


Is logic all you've got?

by symphorine



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Angst, Asexual Character, Asexual Kuroo Tetsurou, Bokuakakuro Week 2016, Fluff, Getting Together, Hurt/Comfort, Kittens, M/M, Multi, Panic Attacks, Pining, Post-Canon, chapter 5 happened so
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-14
Updated: 2016-05-20
Packaged: 2018-06-08 08:57:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 24,324
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6848020
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/symphorine/pseuds/symphorine
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Kuroo's living with his best friend, Bokuto, and his best friend's boyfriend, Akaashi. It sounded like a good idea until <i>feelings</i> got involved.</p><p>Or: everyone's pining for each other, Kuroo is sure he's doomed, Akaashi wants to take it slow, and Bokuto wishes they didn't complicate the situation so much.</p><p>Written for <a href="http://bokuakakuroweek.tumblr.com/">Bokuakakuro Week 2016!</a></p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Cohesion

**Author's Note:**

> A few things before we begin: I know roughly what I'm going to write, but I'm still writing it day by day, so there won't be much editing. I'll probably do that once the week (and the fic) is over. Each chapter should be about the day's theme, maybe a bit loosely sometimes. And, although they're not together yet, this will very much be about Bokuto, Kuroo and Akaashi's relationship.
> 
> This is for Day 1: cohesion.
> 
> Enjoy!

Kuroo kicked at a stray leaf, slightly wet from the light drizzle. His hands were buried deep inside his pockets, curled in painful fists, and he didn't look up even when someone bumped into him. The umbrella of the stranger grazed his cheek, but he only tilted his head on reflex. He followed the path of the leaf, slowly dancing in the air before falling again a few steps away. He barked a humorless laugh and wiped his face on his hoodie's shoulder, telling himself the chill he felt was only the rain, despite the hollow feeling in his chest.

There were days where everything was fine. Bokuto and Akaashi were, honestly, wonderful. He'd lived with Bokuto for a year already by the time Akaashi had joined them, and you never really knew how you'd click until you were in situation, so he'd been a bit apprehensive, but everything had went well. They were all relatively organized enough for their apartment to stay clean, took turns for chores, had game nights where they sometimes invited Kenma in the hopes they'd finally beat him one day. It was fun.

But sometimes he walked in on them kissing, or cuddling, or having whispered conversations that made them both smile, and he was happy for them, had been since the beginning – but sometimes, he felt like he was drowning, and the cold emptiness in his chest crushed even the claws of jealousy.

It had been one of those times.

He realized there were more people hurrying around him now, and finally raised his head, looking at the street with the eye that wasn't covered by his now-soaked fringe. He could see the college's buildings on his left, a few streets away, but before that, the library sign hung low on the other side of the road, illuminating the raindrops still falling.

Kuroo crossed without thinking or looking, almost ended up as a flat, bloody mess on the pavement, but all he picked up on was the angry honking and the voice of someone asking if he was alright, once he reached the other side. He nodded and offered them the best smile he could muster, then pushed the door.

The library was silent and warm, the smell of paper permeating the air. He wasn't the only student there, but most of them preferred to settle in the bigger, better furnished one, right next to the science building. He was, however, the only one with hair so wet it was starting to drip on the floor. He tried to brush it aside, but it fell back in place almost instantly.

Ignoring the few glances that came his way, he hurried to a corner of the library where he knew he would be alone, and shrugged off his bag with relief. Around him were the rows of books on religion and philosophical theories; while some of them were pretty interesting, most of his fellow college attendants gathered around the shelves covered with economic laws, or western literature. He would be undisturbed.

His phone buzzed in his pocket, the sound startlingly loud in the quiet corner. Kuroo almost ignored it, but it didn't stop, which meant it was a call. He fished it out of his pocket and stared for a second in surprise at Bokuto's name in his screen. He'd expected them to be busy for quite a while. Making sure there weren't other people around, he answered. Maybe they needed him to pick something up on his way back.

“Hey,” he said as low as he could manage, hoping the hint of hoarseness in his voice would go unnoticed.

“ _Hey man, where are you?_ ” Bokuto asked, the sound distorted by the crappy reception.

“Library. The small one.”

“ _'kay._ ”

Before he could ask what this was about, Bokuto had hung up. With a frown, Kuroo examined the screen, wondering if he hadn't ended the call by accident, but after a minute of waiting and nothing else happening, it appeared clear that it had been deliberate.

He was used to Bokuto's  _shortcuts_ , for lack of a better word. The guy had always seemed to have a thousand ideas all fighting at once in his head, and he often forgot people didn't just  _know_ which one had just won, hence what looked a lot like shortcuts in conversations or actions that made others feel like they'd just missed something. It wasn't that there was no reflection behind what he did, but more that it was way too fast for others to follow.

After another minute of waiting, just to be sure, Kuroo shrugged and put his phone on the table, then dug into his bag to get his textbooks out. It was  most likely that Bokuto had wanted to know how much time he'd have alone with Akaashi, so he'd give them as much as he could.  It couldn't be  relaxing, or comfortable , having to remember he was there too most of the time, after all .  They did always try to include him, but there was no way it didn't get annoying at some point, so really, he was doing them a favor.

There were still a few more hours before the library would close, and as he ignored the cold, dull pain in his guts and his chest  with practiced determination , he  focused on  the laws of thermodynamic s .

* * *

“He said he's at the library,” Bokuto announced.

“Can you tell him- wait, you hung up already?” Akaashi frowned slightly as he finished fighting with his hoodie.

“Uh, yeah. Sorry.”

“It's okay, we'll just have to go get him. Not that I really want to go out,” Akaashi mumbled, looking at the rain falling outside like it would go away if he glared enough.

“I can call him again if you want,” Bokuto offered, joining him in front of the window.

“No, don't worry. I'm just not thrilled about homework,” Akaashi sighed.

His boyfriend chuckled and he hugged him from behind, and Akaashi let himself lean into his warmth.

“So glad I didn't go into lit. Text analysis is way too complicated for me,” Bokuto smiled in his hair.

“Don't say it like you aren't able to do it, you did fine in high school.”

“It's less fun than maths.”

“I am going to ignore that you just put 'fun' and 'maths' in the same sentence and there was no negation.”

They were silent for a few seconds.

“I think Kuroo's rubbing off on you,” Bokuto remarked, his tone forcefully light. “That sounded exactly like something he could have said.”

Akaashi nodded, biting his lip absently.

“Let's hope we'll get through him soon,” he sighed, “or the only solution we'll have is confess and see how it goes.”

“I'm pretty sure he wouldn't say no,” Bokuto said, this time more serious, as he let his boyfriend slip out of his embrace. “We don't need to be all subtle about it.”

“I'm not sure how he would react if it just came out of the blue,” Akaashi pointed out. “That's what it would look like to him, at least. No matter how long we've been talking about it.”

It wouldn't matter that they'd been thinking about this for months, that Akaashi had gone through half a year of jealousy knowing Bokuto and Kuroo were living together and he wasn't, that it had ended the day he'd slept over at the apartment and felt home, that Bokuto had been so anxious to talk about it he'd almost made himself sick. Kuroo liked facts, liked having things to prove or support his theories, and if they didn't give him anything other than 'we like you', well. He was trying to be so respectful of their relationship that he'd probably refuse and run away before they could elaborate, just because he wouldn't feel like it would be his place. An idea that both he and Bokuto  _very much_ disagreed with, Akaashi thought, but if they didn't show him  that it was real, that theire feelings were real , he'd cut himself off their lives, and they could deal with him saying no,  but they didn't want to lose him completely.

So, subtle it was, not blunt declarations. Or something halfway between the two, because if they were  _too_ subtle, then it would be back to square one, and that wasn't an option.

They made their way to the entrance and put on their shoes, the soft sounds of the rain hitting the windows filling the silence. Bokuto was frowning, obviously still displeased with the idea of waiting, but as much as Akaashi would have liked to do things his way and cut the endless stream of interrogations going through his mind –  _would he say yes? Would he need time? Would he find it weird? Would he want to sleep with them? Would he say no?_ – he was convinced they needed to ease Kuroo into the idea, even if they didn't make it explicit.

Bokuto turned the lights off and they looked at the door. It was a perfectly ordinary door, one Akaashi had known for six months now, and it shouldn't make him feel so excited and apprehensive to look at it, but there he was. Bokuto took a deep breath beside him, and gave him a small smile, the one reserved for him, before taking his hand.

“Ready?”

“As much as I'll ever be.”

* * *

 

H e had no idea how much time had passed when loud footsteps a few meters away tore him away from the formulas. He dragged his hand across his face, willing his eyes to stay open and on the printed words –  they would make sense any minute now – but before he could go back to studying, someone cleared their throat.

“Hey,” Bokuto said, rather awkwardly for someone who usually acted overly confident. “Mind if I sit?”

Kuroo waved his hand in a vague gesture that Bokuto took as permission, and he plopped down on the chair on his right.

“You're not with Akaashi?”

“He'd looking for a book, he'll be there in a minute,” Bokuto answered, stacking his own textbooks next to Kuroo's.

“I figured you'd stay home,” Kuroo mumbled, watching him rummage in the depths of his bag.

“Why?” Bokuto frowned. “Shit, you got a pen for me?”

“Yeah, sure,” Kuroo answered, handing him his pencil. “I thought you would want time alone, that's all.”

“Is that why you keep running out of the apartment?” Akaashi asked from behind him.

Bokuto laughed at Kuroo's little jump, then at his reproachful face, and Akaashi took that time to sit down too, on Kuroo's left, two heavy volumes of classic literature joining the other books.

“I don't _run_ out of the apartment,” Kuroo muttered. “Besides, I though you'd be happy about the intimacy.”

“We already have intimacy, that's what having our own room is for,” Akaashi pointed out, visibly amused.

“Your room isn't soundproof, smartass,” Kuroo retorted, leaning back in his chair.

“Oh. Are we really that loud?” Bokuto worried.

“No, not really,” Kuroo retracted. “It's just weird knowing two of my friends are having sex not even ten meter away from me, so I'd rather leave before it happens.”

“You could always join us, you know,” and this time Bokuto's expression was outrageously flirtatious. It changed at least as rapidly as his thoughts, which meant inhumanly fast, and Kuroo still wondered how it was even possible to stay that pretty while going through five different faces in two seconds.

“And do what, watch?” he snorted, praying to whatever god could hear him that the needle of hurt at knowing this was a joke would leave soon. “Also, even if you're into that, I'm pretty sure you should ask Akaashi before.”

“Who says we didn't talk about it?” Akaashi deadpanned.

And, okay, he was having trouble swallowing now, and the needle multiplied, because he knew they didn't mean it,  not like he'd have wanted , he knew,  this was a joke,  but  _fuck_ .

“Well, even then I'm still not into sex, so,” he answered, maybe a beat too late, maybe tensing a bit too much, his smile probably too forced.

He didn't miss the look they exchanged  across the table, but the uncomfortable silence stretched for long enough that he managed to find the words to cut through it.

“Anyway, what did you get?” he asked to Akaashi, nodding in the direction of the two books he'd carried with him.

“Genji Monogatari,” Akaashi let out in his flattest tone.

“Ah, great classic.”

“And a great pain in my ass, mostly. It's just a mess of mom issues and almost incest,” he grimaced.

Both Kuroo and Bokuto laughed at his pained expression.  He tried to make them stop by giving them the sternest look he could, which didn't have any effect apart from another bout of giggling .

“You should've gone into science with us, Keiji,” Bokuto grinned, waving his math notes.

“You still have time to reconsider, man,” Kuroo added. “Think of how much better you'd feel dealing in cold hard facts and not endless interpretations of the smallest details!”

Akaashi's mouth opened but surprisingly, no retaliation came out, and he closed it again with another glance at Bokuto. It was quick enough that Kuroo didn't have the time to catch his friend's reaction,  but he was smart enough to understand there was something going on that he wasn't privy to. The needles pierced a little further, and the cold feeling came back, but he didn't let it take over this time. He was feeling better, and there was no way he would abandon the front he was keeping up right there and then; not in front of Bokuto and Akaashi. So he kept smiling and acted as if nothing was wrong, since after all, as far as they knew, nothing was.

“Let's get to work then,” he offered when it became clear they didn't know what to say.

“I'm thinking of going to drown myself in a puddle before that,” Akaashi sighed, eyeing his books with a somber expression.

“They can't be that bad,” Kuroo reasoned.

“You didn't read them.”

“Sure we did, tons of extracts during high school,” Bokuto countered.

“It's different when you have to read everything together. More boring, mostly,” Akaashi added after a second of consideration.

“What do you have to do?” Kuroo asked, peering at the first volume Akaashi was finally opening.

“ _Analyze the narrative pattern_ ,” Akaashi said in what was probably supposed to be his professor's voice. “If only Genji Hikaru could go fuck himself, for once, instead of fucking everyone else.”

“Tell that to the author, I'm sure she'll appreciate criticism.”

“Do your own homework and stop bothering me.”

“But it's boring,” Kuroo protested, showing him the page he'd been reading when Bokuto had interrupted him. “I almost fell asleep!”

“Oh, do you want my compassion now?”

“Okay, guys, if you're done before seven, I'm taking both of you out for dinner,” Bokuto interrupted them. “Is that a good motivation?”

“Better than just being done,” Kuroo snorted.

“Agreed,” Akaashi nodded, before going to squeeze Bokuto's hand briefly. “Thanks.”

“Don't thank me yet, you still have to get through that thing,” Bokuto reminded him, and just as soon Akaashi took his hand back and looked at the books in resignation.

“If one of you interrupts me, I'm blaming my academic failures on him,” he warned.

B okuto and Kuroo exchanged smiles, but they knew they would respect his need to work this time. They had things to do as well, after all, and little time to bother their friend. Bokuto produced his earphones from  his pocket and plugged them in to his phone,  and immediately Kuroo could hear his music blasting at full volume. Bokuto gave him an encouraging smile, and turned to his homework.

Kuroo felt a lot better than when he'd entered the library. He always did, around them, if he was honest with himself – and he was, a little too much if you asked him, because that had led to the realization that there was a reason behind that. And he really, really hadn't needed that realization.

So here he was, the painful awareness of being the pining third wheel in their little circle fading away, and it was with a smile that he finally turned back to thermodynamic laws.

Like this, he could almost imagine they liked him back.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For the record, I love maths, I love physics, and I am absolutely projecting onto Bokuto and Kuroo the academic paths I didn't choose three years ago. No regrets, but damn, I miss science.
> 
> The Genji Monogatari, or The Tale of Genji, is a famous novel (the first novel, actually, not just in Japan but in the world) written by Murasaki Shikibu during the 11th century. The Genji, who is the main character, is the illegitimate son of an emperor, and the novel follows him through his life, including his many, many romantic/sexual conquests. It's very long, with a fuckton of characters, and more complex than just 'a mess of mom issues and almost incest' (that's kind of like saying Les Misérables is mostly about poor people dying), but after the two classes during which my prof described it to us, that was mostly the impression we got. If you want to know more, Wikipedia's your friend! (or you can always ask me to translate my notes from last year's lit class but that would be a lot less practical).
> 
> See you tomorrow!


	2. Food & Animal

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ramen and then a little surprise on the way home (the surprise is kittens)

 

Bokuto kept his promise: they packed their things just before the library closed, after many angry mutters from Akaashi and a particularly desperate sigh from Kuroo. They hadn't finished, exactly, but they'd given it their all in the limits of human abilities – that is to say until the headache had started to give them blurry vision – and Bokuto would have taken pity on them anyway.

The air outside was still a bit damp, but the rain had stopped. Bokuto was walking ahead, but backwards and turned in their direction. Kuroo was pretty sure it was only a question of time until he hit a tree. Or a wall. Or a person. Or just tripped on his own feet.

“So where are you taking us?” he asked with a smile.

“Dunno. You guys choose.”

Kuroo looked at Akaashi, who was watching him with his eyebrows raised in a silent question.

“I think Akaashi should be the one to decide,” Kuroo declared, throwing his arm around Akaashi's shoulders. “He's probably the one who suffered the most, poor him, having to read about terrible sexual encounters and all that,” he added, only smiling wider when Akaashi elbowed him in the ribs.

“I'm just thinking the ramen place, honestly,” he said. “It's on our way back anyway.”

Bokuto finally started walking facing the right direction, having miraculously avoided any obstacle so far, and he winked at Akaashi before skipping ahead, humming something under his breath. Kuroo made a noise of agreement and was letting his arm slide off Akaashi when a hand gripped his tightly, keeping it in place.

“Can we stay like this? It's cold,” Akaashi murmured, glancing at him.

“Okay,” Kuroo answered after a second of silence.

He pulled Akaashi a little closer. It seemed strange, holding him like this, almost like he wasn't supposed to. He felt something flutter in his stomach, and ignored it with as much determination as he had showed earlier in the afternoon. He couldn't let his feelings make him misread the situation, which was that his friend simply didn't mind being touched as much anymore.

Akaashi had almost looked like a wild animal caught by surprise the first time he'd done this – slinging his arm around him. He'd jumped out of his reach so fast Kuroo had wondered if he hadn't slipped on something. But the way he'd been clutching the volleyball in his hand, his stiffened shoulders, his wary expression – he'd understood and apologized immediately. Akaashi hadn't seemed very convinced, but when he had made a point of moving slower when he reached for him, of giving him a way out every time, he'd looked relieved.

Kuroo had been a bit jealous of Bokuto, actually. Akaashi had never had the same reserve with him, the same hesitation, had let him jump on his back or take him in his arms without much protest. Bokuto was, admittedly, a lot louder and always announced himself, so maybe that was the difference, that he didn't take him by surprise.

They'd worked they way up to casual touches, bumping elbows and knees when sitting next to each other, slaps on the back during practice matches, and living together had helped make it natural. Akaashi even endured evenings spent pressed between him and Bokuto without showing any discomfort, and Kuroo was mostly sure it was because there _wasn't_ any discomfort. Akaashi had never had any problem telling him if he was going too far.

Still, it was a bit surprising that he'd welcome his touch like this. But hey, Kuroo would take whatever he could get, and it was comfortable anyway.

“We're here!” Bokuto called, a few steps in front of them.

He waited for them to catch up, and this time, when Kuroo stepped away, Akaashi let him. They ordered and paid immediately, familiar with the joint, and went to sit at the table nudged in the corner of the room, lit by an almost too bright lightbulb. Akaashi and Bokuto took one side, and Kuroo settled across them, half-leaning against the rough wooden wall. Bokuto was trailing his hand up and down Akaashi's back absently, his other hand supporting his head. He was biting on the inside of his cheek, and Kuroo started to reach for his face to make him stop before he could bleed.

“You doing anything this week-end?” Bokuto spoke up suddenly, and Kuroo's hand fell on the table as Akaashi looked up.

“Not really,” Kuroo answered. He blew at his fringe as he tried to remember if he had anything planned, but Kenma was taken by an internship, Yaku and Kai had a group project to prepare, and if any of his other friends was doing something, they hadn't invited him. “Why?”

“My family is doing a trek on Saturday,” Bokuto started, his hands suddenly making large movements in front of him as his eyes lit up. “We're leaving in the morning for the mountains, but we shouldn't climb very high. There's a nice river going around them, we'll probably stop there to nap or something, and the view is really nice, and-”

“What he's trying to say,” Akaashi interrupted him gently, linking their fingers together before turning his eyes on Kuroo, “is do you want to come with us?”

“Uh, what?”

They were interrupted by their food's arrival before anybody could answer, and Kuroo used the few seconds to find a better sentence. He missed the flash of worry that crossed Akaashi's face, too busy avoiding their eyes.

“I mean, why?”

Better didn't mean _good_.

“Why not?” Bokuto countered, like it was that simple.

And in his head it probably was, Kuroo realized. It probably didn't seem odd to him to invite him to a family outing where the only other person who wasn't blood related to him was his boyfriend, who was practically family anyway at this point. In Bokuto's worldview, he wouldn't be an intruder. Because Bokuto was, at core, just nice like that, just a ray of sunshine that wanted everyone to get along and liked to have the people he liked in the same place.

But Akaashi didn't add anything to that, and only kept looking expectantly at him, too. Surely, _he_ would see how weird the proposition was? Not that Kuroo didn't appreciate, it was nice, and he liked Bokuto's family, as loud and invasive as they could sometimes be. But _he_ wasn't family, he would be out of place, and besides, he didn't really like hiking anyway. There. He would just complain and ruin everyone's day. Why would he go?

He was opening his mouth to voice all that when he realized they were both fixing him, Bokuto's big golden eyes fully open and Akaashi's smaller, darker ones slightly narrowed, waiting for his answer, and not a word came out. He gaped a few seconds, closed his mouth, opened it again and slid his hand through his hair in embarrassment. He was, literally, physically incapable of saying no, and some part of his brain was dying of laughter at how pathetic that was.

“Sure, if you don't mind,” he eventually managed to say, the words hesitant on his tongue.

The second he saw how much Bokuto brightened, any regret he could have had vanished.

“Great!” he exclaimed, making a few other patrons turn their heads toward them. “I'll wake you up in the morning, but I'm warning you, it's gonna be early.”

“Oh no, what did I get myself into?” Kuroo smiled.

“A full day of babysitting,” Akaashi answered, but his expression wasn't blank enough for anybody to buy into his dry tone.

“Come on, Keiji, it won't be that bad.”

“Your parents always leave us with your siblings. I call that babysitting.”

“They just walk faster than us!”

“Because we're busy making sure we didn't lose any of your brothers and sisters.”

Kuroo smiled behind his chopsticks and noodles.

* * *

 

When they stepped out, night had fallen. The street lights were illuminating the sidewalk, still wet from the rain earlier, and they headed home to the sound of Kuroo and Akaashi talking about volleyball. All three of them were on the college's team, although Bokuto was the only one who was a regular yet. Some of the seniors were already retiring, though, which meant they might get a chance.

“Unless Tendou steals the spot,” Akaashi teased him.

“I think he still needs to work on team play,” Kuroo countered. “He's gotten incredibly better at it during last year, but there are things you can't just learn like that.”

“Maybe, but he's really good, and if we're talking individual strength, probably better than you.”

“Thank you, Akaashi, really, nobody had thought to keep my ego in check today.”

“Glad I could help. You're still good, you know that, he's just better.”

“Well, it's not our decision anyway,” Kuroo shrugged. “You, on the other hand, are pretty likely to get a spot.”

“I'm still a first year.”

“But- wait, where's Bokuto?”

Engrossed in their discussion, they hadn't noticed his disappearance. They turned around, but he wasn't anywhere in sight. They exchanged a confused glance.

“Bo?” Kuroo called, bringing his hand around his mouth.

“Koutarou?” Akaashi followed as they went back on their tracks.

They had to go almost a hundred meters back before they heard an answer.

“I'm here!”

They rushed into an alley, a lot darker than the main road, but there was Bokuto, crouching to look at something pushed against the wall, and offering them a sheepish smile.

“What are you doing?” Akaashi asked with a frown.

“Um, well, you see,” Bokuto stuttered, tugging at his hair. “They're so small, and they looked so cold, and I thought, you know-”

He was interrupted by a small meow, and immediately guilt settled on his face. Akaashi's expression immediately morphed to exasperation, and he pinched the bridge of his nose with his left hand.

“No,” he stated.

“But-”

“Koutarou.”

“We can't just leave them here!” Bokuto protested.

He stepped back a little and for the first time, they could see the kittens curled up with their mother in a large shoebox, all looking pretty dirty and way too thin. They mewled again, the feeble sound almost pathetic, when a ray of light coming from the street reached them as Kuroo shifted, stepping closer.

“Akaashi,” he started. “He's right, we can't just leave them here, they're going to die.”

“We're not adopting five cats,” Akaashi said as he crossed his arms. “That's way too much responsibility.”

He looked pretty determined, even as the kittens kept mewling, but before Kuroo could even suggest anything, Akaashi made the mistake of looking at Bokuto. Who was making the most pity-inducing puppy eyes at him while petting one of the little balls of fur. And looked on the verge of crying.

Akaashi's resolution held for about ten seconds, which were obviously the product of him being exposed to that face so often. Or maybe just his strength of will, since Kuroo, even as used to Bokuto's puppy eyes as he was, would have caved in in a second flat.

“What are we even going to do with them?” he sighed.

“We can drop them off at an animal shelter,” Kuroo offered. “I don't know if there are any nearby, but we should be able to find one. It's not like cats are too needy, anyway, we can handle them until then.”

“Fine!” Akaashi relented, throwing his arms up in the air. “Fine, bring the cats.”

“Thank you Keiji, thank you, thank you,” Bokuto said as he took the shoebox and held it close. “I'm sorry, I know, but thank you.”

“Just. Just take them,” Akaashi added weakly.

Once again Bokuto darted off to walk in front of them, this time cooing at the kittens and stroking their heads. Kuroo was pretty sure he was actually _talking_ to them, though he couldn't hear anything distinct. Next to him, Akaashi's mouth was twisted down, but his posture was less tense already.

“What do you have against cats?” Kuroo asked, genuinely curious.

“Nothing in particular. But this is _five_ cats, which is a lot, that we'll have to feed and get to the vet and-”

“We just said we would drop them off at a shelter,” Kuroo cut him off.

“Do you actually think Bokuto will let us do that anytime soon?” Akaashi countered. “He already loves them. By the time he's decided he can survive without them, _we,_ ” he pointed at Kuroo, then at himself, “will love them too, and there won't even be a discussion about it, we'll keep them.”

“So you're saying we just adopted five cats?”

“We did,” Akaashi confirmed.

They both looked at Bokuto again. He was radiant, babbling to the cats, nuzzling them with his nose when they sat up in the box. He laughed when on of them tried to play with his fingers, holding the shoebox against his chest, but didn't seem fazed by the small scratches.

Kuroo felt such a rush of fondness that he was almost brought to tears, and judging by Akaashi's expression, he wasn't faring much better. He was still half frowning, but his smile was piercing under the resignation, and he looked like he'd never seen anything better than Bokuto playing with cats, his eyes as soft as the curve of his mouth.

He looked _beautiful_. Kuroo's heart took a second hit, and he cleared his throat, breaking the spell before he really started to cry.

“I can think of worse things to do,” he murmured, directing his eyes to Bokuto again.

“I guess,” he heard in answer, and he didn't see that Akaashi's face held just as much affection when he looked at him, too.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'd say the least realistic thing here is that they're all cat persons but lbr, cats are awesome.
> 
> Another day, another chapter, see you tomorrow and thanks for the support :D


	3. Domestic

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Early morning, and living with kittens.

 

Bokuto woke up alone in the bed. This wasn't unusual: he was an early riser, but Akaashi's sleep was so light that anything could wake him up. His side of the bed was still warm when Bokuto patted it, but he wasn't anywhere in sight.

He scrubbed at his eyes before glancing at the clock. He was ten minutes early on his alarm, but that wasn't surprising either. Years of getting up at the same time every day had conditioned him, and by his first year of high school, he was already waking up a long time before he had to.

He sat up on the edge of the bed. It was still dark outside, and the room was only faintly illuminated by the streetlights three floors under the window, and the light filtering under the door. He could barely make out the outline of the desk and chair that he knew were in front of him, but it didn't bother him. He got up and reached the door without bumping into anything, squinting when he opened it. As much of an early bird as he was, the light in the living room was way too bright. It took him a few seconds before he could adjust, but then he opened the door all the way, and a soft gasp answered the creaking.

Akaashi was sitting on the other side of the room, just next to their bookshelf, stuffing a few old clothes together in a makeshift bed for the kittens. He was looking at him with a slightly guilty expression, and Bokuto felt his lips stretch in a wide smile when he realized Akaashi was petting them. They were asleep around their mother, her brown fur streaked with black looking a lot better after the bath they'd given them the previous night.

“Not adopting them, right?” he teased, striding across the room to bend and kiss him.

“Good morning, please go brush your teeth,” Akaashi complained, nose scrunched up, and Bokuto stole a second kiss before complying, coming back in the room with his toothbrush in hand.

“We're gonna need food for them,” he said between two energetic brushing, some of the toothpaste running down his chin.

“We don't even know how old they are,” Akaashi pointed out. “When do they start to eat dry food?”

“No idea. Four weeks?” Bokuto offered, wiping his face with his wrist.

They contemplated the little family. One of the kittens was snoring, a hiss of air that tickled its siblings in their sleep. They looked better too, now that they were clean, but still felt dangerously thin to the touch. Bokuto went back to the bathroom to spit his toothpaste, then set to laying out their breakfast on the table, humming as he disposed everything. The kitchen corner wasn't separated from the rest of the living room, which allowed him to keep an eye on Akaashi, still sitting by the cats.

“Do you want to name them?”

The question sounded almost shy, but Bokuto looked up immediately, almost burning himself with his coffee.

“We're keeping them?”

“Yes. Kuroo is okay with it, too,” Akaashi added, obviously trying not to make a big deal out of it.

“But I thought you didn't want to?”

“You're never going to be able to let us take them away from you,” Akaashi shrugged, finally getting up.

“If it's just because of me-” Bokuto started, something clenching in his gut.

Akaashi laid a finger on his lips, cutting him off.

“I won't lie, it's a bit because of you,” he admitted, “but I was thinking we could get one anyway. It's just that five is a lot at once.”

“Keiji, if you don't want to you can say it,” Bokuto insisted, even though he felt his heart drop at the idea. “I don't want you to force yourself for me, I know sometimes I do things and you go along with it because you don't have a choice, because I didn't think, but-”

“I'm not forcing myself, alright?” Akaashi interrupted him again, placing his hands on Bokuto's hips and pulling him close. “You're not forcing me to do anything. Forget that thought right now. I don't want you to feel down because of something that isn't even true.”

It was easier said than done, but Bokuto had gotten better at controlling his moods through the years, just as Akaashi was now an expert at predicting them. So, under his boyfriend's patient gaze, he took a deep breath and let it out slowly, concentrating on the circles Akaashi's thumb was rubbing on his skin.

“Okay,” he finally said. “Okay.”

“Good. Now kiss me,” Akaashi smiled, and Bokuto was more than happy to oblige.

They kissed once, twice, once more, languidly, their coffee getting colder and completely forgotten. Akaashi's hands joined in his back, fingers splayed like he wanted to touch all of him, and Bokuto held him closer, kissed him again. He didn't feel happy – he felt safe, and warm, and loved, and that was infinitely better.

The sound of a door opening up made them jump apart, and they turned to Kuroo.

It was a fact that Kuroo wasn't a waking up person, and was probably at his most unpleasant right after having his sleep interrupted by a blaring alarm, but seeing him in all his sleepy glory, hair sticking up in literally every direction, eyes squinting in the light, and barely dressed in an old T-shirt and his boxers, the mark of his pillows still imprinted on his face, never, ever got old. He muttered something that was probably meant to be a greeting when he saw them and dragged himself in the bathroom, his clothes hanging from his hand, then carelessly closed the door behind him.

Bokuto tried to ignore how much he wanted to go after him, to hug and kiss him like he'd just done with Akaashi, because they were taking this slow, dammit, and as little as Kuroo could process anything in the morning, he was pretty sure he would notice his best friend trying to kiss him. With a sigh, he let go of Akaashi and sat down to eat, grimacing when he tasted his lukewarm coffee.

Kuroo emerged from the bathroom a few minutes later, fully dressed and looking a bit more human, mostly thanks to the fact that his wet hair looked much less wild. He actually articulated a “Good morning” when he let himself fall in his chair. Akaashi smiled at Bokuto across the table – they'd had one, very long, discussion about how _adorable_ Kuroo looked when he was waking up and acted all grumpy when he barely even had the energy to pour himself orange juice, and Bokuto knew he would never  be able to forget those twenty minutes – but they left him alone. He was usually about as chatty as a wild bear anyway, and they'd learned to wait for him to talk before trying to interact with him. Instead he kept describing his dreams to Akaashi, who almost choked on his coffee when he reached the part where there had been an acid bath, for whatever reason. 

Only when they had all finished and were cleaning the table did  Kuroo speak.

“Who's taking them to the vet?” he asked, pointing at the cats.

“I have classes all day,” Akaashi said, adding something that sounded suspiciously like _fucking classic literature_ under his breath.

“My afternoon classes got canceled, so I could!” Bokuto announced.

“I can go with you if you can wait until three,” Kuroo offered.

“You don't have lab?”

“Yeah, but it's a slow reaction, so we'll just have to prepare it, and then we're free.”

“Awesome!” Bokuto cheered.

“Maybe we should call before to know it they can receive you,” Akaashi suggested as he made his way over the bedroom. “And I call dibs on naming the mom.”

“Hey! Why?” Kuroo exclaimed.

“Keiji! If you do that we can't have a name theme for all of them!” Bokuto protested,

“That's the point!”

Bokuto pouted for the sake of showing his disappointment, but resumed the process of cleaning the table while Kuroo started the dishes.

“We'll call after practice,” he said. “And we'll need something to transport them.”

“We can always buy a cage before taking them. We'll need one anyway, since we're keeping them,” Bokuto pointed out.

“True. You got ideas for names yet?” Kuroo asked, sporting a mischievous smile as he turned back toward him.

“ _So many_.”

* * *

 

T hey bought a large cage, litter and a bo x to go with it, and some cat food on their way home. They'd given the mother a bit of meat the day before, and the kittens were still feeding from her, so they didn't look for anything else. It would be enough until they could see the vet, and then they could text Akaashi if they needed him to buy anything else.

When they opened the door, an unpleasant smell hit them, so harsh Bokuto almost closed it again.

“What the hell?” Kuroo yelled, covering his nose and mouth with his arm.

Bokuto ran to open the window, and immediately inhaled the fresh air.

“Fuck, I hope they'll learn to use the litter soon,” Kuroo muttered, contemplating the state of their floor.

As far as he could see, they'd contained their natural urges to the living room and kitchen, and most of it was easily visible. He sighed, regretted it when the smell invaded his nose again, and  dug up their cleaning supplies from under the sink.

“Bo, can you get them in the cage?” he called out, already filling a small bucket with warm water.

“Sure!” came the choked off response.

It was followed by a yelp, and Kuroo took a step back to get a better view of what Bokuto was doing.

He was holding a kitten at arm's length, engaged in a scary face contest as the little animal scratched at him. Kuroo couldn't help but laugh at the scene, with how offended Bokuto looked.

“I see you're battling with a terrible enemy,” he mocked, turning off the water.

“Shut up and clean up!” Bokuto retorted, finally wrestling the kitten in the cage.

“Call me if you need backup,” Kuroo chuckled, carefully adding a bit of bleach to the water.

“I'm not going to lose, you dirty little- ow! Asshole!”

Kuroo kept smiling as he started to wipe the floor clean. Bokuto was fighting with a second kitten, much more vicious than the first had been. This one's fur was black, with stripes of white and gray, and as he watched Bokuto giving it a stern lecture, he was hit by the resemblance.

By the time he'd clean ed the room, rubbing especially  strongly in the places where the cats had peed, Bokuto was closing the cage and checking to make sure they hadn't dirtied their nest, too. It was smelling a lot better already.

“We're good to go, I think,” Bokuto declared. “But we're late.”

“Just means there are a few people who'll go before us,” Kuroo shrugged, emptying the bucket in their sink. “I'll finish cleaning when we get back.”

B okuto took the cage in his arms, and was subjected to an eruption of unhappy meows. He shushed them while Kuroo grabbed a spare bed sheet to throw over the barrels. He sneaked a finger between the m , smiling when the black, white and gray kitten attacked it.

“This one looks so much like you, it's like it's your son. Or daughter,” he added after an instant of reflection.

“I would turn it around to check but my hands are kinda full,” Bokuto remarked, “so if you're done...”

“Yeah, yeah, just saying, you've got a cat child now. It's like you and Akaashi had children,” Kuroo teased, draping the sheet over the cage.

“And you.”

“Huh?”

“And you,” Bokuto repeated firmly, toeing his shoes on his feet.

“Yeah, guess I'll deserve joint custody when I move out,” Kuroo agreed, opening the door.

Bokuto stopped in his tracks, head whipping so fast Kuroo was afraid he'd hurt himself.

“You're thinking of moving out?” he asked, and his voice was strangled, struggling to get the words past his lips.

“Not… really?” Kuroo answered, taken aback by his reaction. “I mean, not anytime soon, unless you guys want me to.”

“No! No, don't move out,” Bokuto exclaimed, almost dropping the cage in his hurry to dissuade Kuroo. “We don't want you to move out.”

Kuroo looked at him with his eyebrows raised high, obviously puzzled, but didn't press  the issue . Instead, he opened the door wider, inciting him to move with a  jerk of his head.

“Come on, we're already late enough.”

* * *

 

“You named them _what_?”

Akaashi couldn't say it surprised him, but. Honestly.

“Caterpillar,” Kuroo repeated, holding up the black kitten in his left hand. “Catwoman,” he added, holding up the brown one that looked pretty much like her mother in his right hand. “Catimini,” he added, with a nod in the direction of the other brown one whose paws were completely white, curled up in his lap.

“And Owl!” Bokuto added with a bright smile, petting the little kitten that matched him.

“Okay. So, cat puns,” Akaashi sighed, kneeling down on the floor with them. “Except this one, why?”

“Kuroo let me name her before we got to the others,” Bokuto explained, “so we hadn't thought about the puns yet.”

“Dude, she's your daughter, it's fate, of course I'd let you name her,” Kuroo grinned.

“Oh, so now we have children?” Akaashi noted. “Good to know. At least we won't have to worry about school. Do we have to send a card to people to let them know?”

“Think about it as practice for later?” Bokuto proposed.

He didn't expect Akaashi to widen his eyes so much, or Kuroo to have a sudden coughing fit. Only after a few seconds did he catch up to what he'd just said.

“I mean! I mean, maybe, if you want to? One day?” he added quickly, voice trembling.

“I'll, uh, I'll leave,” Kuroo offered, clearing his lap of the kittens.

“No, don't,” Akaashi stopped him. “I'll go prepare dinner, you guys just. Stay with the cats,” he trailed off.

He looked rather stiff as he got up, but when he turned his back to them, they could see that his neck was bright red, the flush starting to reach his ears.  Bokuto hid his face behind his hands and let out a low-pitched whine, his cheeks just as read as Akaashi's neck.

“ _Fuck_ ,” he swore, “that wasn't supposed to come out like this.”

“Hey, don't worry, he probably think it's cute,” Kuroo reassured him. “I think it's cute, too.”

“Really?” Bokuto asked, peering through his fingers.

“Yeah. You're obviously in it for the long term, so it was gonna come up eventually anyway,” Kuroo shrugged. “And you'd probably be good dads. But you're way too young for that, so I guess cats are a good way to start,” he grinned.

B okuto let his hands fall down in his lap and stared at him. There were a hundred things he wanted to say, a thousand words pressing on his tongue, and he couldn't say any of them, because it was too early. Kuroo didn't know, so there would be no point in explaining any part of what he was thinking. His face, for once, was impossible to decipher, and Kuroo squirmed under his gaze.

“What? Did I say something wrong?”

Boktuo glanced at Akaashi for a second, twisting his mouth, then let go of the thought.

“Nah, don't worry.”

It killed him a bit inside, to keep everything a secret for now, but Akaashi had made a convincing case. As much as he wanted to spill everything right there and then, they had to wait. He picked up Owl again and lied one his back, letting the kitten walk tentatively on him.

“Get up,” Kuroo nudged him. “If you want this to be practice, learn to clean up the mess your kids did.”

Bokuto frowned as he leaned on his elbows. “Didn't you do that already?”

“We need to put vinegar on the spots where they peed, otherwise it will keep smelling.”

“But vinegar smells terrible,” Bokuto whined, interrupted by Owl trying to climb on his face.

“Smells better than cat pee,” Kuroo pointed out, picking up the kitten.

“No, don't take her away!” Bokuto protested.

“Get up and help me, you lazy ass.”

“Ugh, _fine_. Oh, hey, Keiji! How do you want to call the mom?”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've had five cats and I still don't remember what you have to do when you get one, so I shamelessly skipped the details. I do, however, remember cleaning up their messes the first few weeks. It's not the best part of having a pet.
> 
> I'll take this moment to plead for all people who are like Kuroo and me in the morning: please. Please. Don't talk to us. Thank you.
> 
> The next chapters might be a bit rushed since real life expectations are catching up with me. I hope they won't, but it's a possibility.
> 
> See you tomorrow!


	4. Nature

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hiking with the Bokuto family, car rides, and dancing around feelings until it's cuddling time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have no idea how this became so long. It's like, 40% of the fics length now. How. Why. I don't know.
> 
> Enjoy!

 

On Saturday morning, Akaashi was still nursing his coffee when Kuroo emerged from his room, looking as ready to start the day as Bokuto, who practically leapt out of the room behind him to join Akaashi at the table, looked ready to go back to sleep. His eyes were practically sparkling, and he couldn't stay in place, turning around after giving Akaashi a quick peck to go hug the cats.

He was still talking to them excitedly, describing the day's plans to them, when Kuroo came out of the bathroom to eat, sparing a disgusted glance at the still-dark world outside the window. Bokuto came to hug him as soon as he was seated, unable to contain himself.

“This is going to be so great!” he exclaimed, crushing Kuroo in his arms from behind, oblivious to the way he stiffened. “I haven't seen them all in so long! And the weather should be perfect!”

“Koutarou,” Akaashi interrupted him, “can you go check that we haven't forgotten to pack anything? The list is still on the bed.”

“Sure!” Bokuto answered, swinging around the table to kiss him again before leaving them behind.

Kuroo exhaled slowly, grunted something what was probably a thanks, then resumed his task of eating breakfast. Akaashi emptied his mug and rinsed it quickly in the sink, silent the entire time. He knew he'd get more small talk from the cats than from Kuroo.

Bokuto bounced back in the room, his smile so bright the sun could probably take a vacation day. Akaashi felt almost dazed.

“We're all good, just waiting on you,” his boyfriend told Kuroo.

To his credit, he reacted, nodding slowly and squinting at Bokuto, as if something was blinding him.

Probably the smile, Akaashi thought.

“I'm almost done,” Kuroo eventually said as Bokuto kept beaming at him. “Please stop that.”

He didn't specify what, but it surprised Bokuto enough that he stopped smiling, slipping into a confused expression instead. He tilted his head to the side and blinked slowly, as if he was trying to understand what Kuroo had meant.

“Will the cats be alright?” Akaashi asked as he wiped his hands.

“Sure!” Bokuto answered, his smile suddenly back at full power. “We're back this evening anyway! And Utagawa will take care of her children, won't you?” he added, turning his head to the cats' nest.

Kuroo snorted in what was left of his orange juice, bringing Bokuto's attention back on him.

“What?”

“Utagawa,” Kuroo repeated, as if that was self-explanatory. “Stupid name,” he explained when the only reaction was a puzzled silence.

“You named them after _puns_ ,” Akaashi stated in a flat voice. “I don't want to hear any judgment from you.”

“At least they're funny,” Kuroo shrugged.

He finally stood up, stretching as he did so. He extended his arms towards the ceiling and there were a few popping sounds coming from his back and his arms. Bokuto grimaced, but even the sound that he disliked wasn't enough to dull his excitation.

“Come on, hurry up, we're gonna be late!” he urged them, almost vibrating.

“The sun is barely up, Bo,” Kuroo stated. “It's not like there's gonna be traffic.”

“If you're awake enough to say that you're awake enough to prepare faster!”

“Stop bothering me!”

“Put on your shoes!”

“Are you my _mom_?”

“Both of you, please, shut up,” Akaashi ordered, rubbing at his temples.

They were silent for a second, then started bickering again, albeit quieter. He cleaned the table while they were busy trying to win whatever argument they'd started, the sound of their voices fading into the background. It stayed there until they got into the car, but as soon as Bokuto started driving, they stopped  arguing . He wasn't a bad driver, but he was too easily distracted, and he couldn't  focus both on winning the discussion with Kuroo and on the road at the same time.

Kuroo must have been on the track on proving he was right, since Bokuto sulked for the first ten minutes of the drive, frowning at the rare other cars like they'd personally offended him. Akaashi was supposed to be the copilot, but they knew their way well enough that Bokuto probably wouldn't need him. He turned back to see if he could make some conversation with Kuroo, but their friend was lying as comfortably as he could on the back seat, eyes closed. He was most likely still awake and just resting, but Akaashi let him be.

He turned on the radio and music filled the car. It was set on Bokuto's playlist, which was mostly made of catchy pop songs and upbeat music. The rhythm masked the car's noises, and Bokuto started humming. He reached blindly toward Akaashi, eyes still on the road, and smiled when he felt his boyfriend's fingers intertwine with his. Akaashi  squeezed gently, placing their hands so Bokuto wouldn't have trouble switching gears, and settled himself in his seat for the rest of the ride.

* * *

 

It took them a little more than an hour to arrive, and Bokuto's family was already at the rendezvous point, as his parent's enthusiastic waving attested. Kuroo sat up just as Bokuto parked and rubbed at his eyes, but he looked too functional to have been sleeping.

“Sleep well?” Akaashi asked nonetheless.

“Enough to be ready to kick ass,” Kuroo grinned in return.

“Great,” he deadpanned, and stepped out of the car, bracing himself.

He was immediately assaulted by  a small army of children, most commonly known as the Bokuto triplets, Akane, Himawari and Eimi. The three girls didn't let go until he'd properly greeted each of them, and then they ran up to Kuroo,  to his relief . Their other brother, Riki, greeted him in a much calmer way, shaking his hand very solemnly for someone who was barely twelve, and finally, the last sister, Kazuko, who  had adopted the same kind of hair as her older brother , though  of the purple variety , only nodded at him, which he was grateful for.

The parents made their way to him after exchanging bear hugs with their eldest son, and Akaashi was pretty sure he felt one of his ribs move when Bokuto's mother took him in his arms. He did his best not to wince.

“Keiji, it's so nice to see you again! I hope you've been well?”

“I have, thank you,” he assured her, trying to discretely make sure he could still move normally.

“And Tetsurou!” Bokuto's father exclaimed, giving the same treatment to Kuroo. “We're so glad you could come too! I hope our son doesn't give you two too much trouble!” he laughed.

“Dad!” Bokuto protested, holding two of his youngest sister in his arms. “Why is that the first thing you have to say?”

“Oh, he's sorry Koutarou! Aren't you, honey?” his mom intervened.

“You have to admit you can be a handful, Koutarou!”

“Oh, because you aren't?” Kazuko chimed in, face carefully neutral under her dyed bangs.

Her father only laughed, and Akaashi, like every time, was surprised at how much he sounded like his son. He and his wife were both built like Bokuto,  and the rest of their children too : tall, robust, a smile so wide i t took up half of their faces, and a  lung capacity that would make an opera singer jealous.  They were all already talking a mile an hour, even Riki who had looked so stoic when he'd greeted him. For once, Bokuto blended in rather than  standing out, as he caught up with his sister.  Akaashi knew they texted regularly, but  Bokuto insisted it was never the same as talking face to face.

“I feel like a tornado just passed right next to me,” Kuroo remarked, standing beside him.

He'd taken out their backpacks and was already looking for the sunscreen. He dug it out with a triumphant cry.

“It does feel a bit like that,” Akaashi agreed. “I'm glad I'm not the only odd one out this time.”

“Aw, is that why you wanted me to come? Afraid to feel lonely?” Kuroo teased as he started applying the cream, handing the bottle to Akaashi.

“I was thinking you could offer some calmer conversation, but now I'm not so sure. Maybe I should have taken the cats instead.”

“How could they possibly be better than me?”

“Do you want the list alphabetized?”

They were interrupted by Himawari and Eimi, who had been instructed to get some sunscreen too.  Akaashi gave back the bottle to Kuroo without any remorse and let him deal with the two girls, soon joined by Akane and Riki. Akaashi opted for strategic retreat in order to preserve some of his strength for the rest of the day, and still rubbing the scream in his skin, he ignored Kuroo's knowing look and made his way to Bokuto. He was still talking with his parents and his older sister, and they were applying sunscreen too. He was almost hesitant to approach the  circle of loud voices and wild gestures,  still intimidated after several years of knowing them, but  Bokuto saw him and smiled.

“Keiji! Can you do my back?”

“Give me the sunscreen.”

He poured it on his fingers and gave it back, then started rubbing it in Bokuto's shoulder, half listening to the discussion. It was mostly about his mother's next business trip, and his sister's choice of college. Kuroo and the other children finished a few minutes after them, and judging by Kuroo's hair, the triplets had had fun with it before he'd managed to stop them. He leaned next to Akaashi's ear as everyone else finished getting ready.

“I hate you,” he hissed.

“You should have been faster,” Akaashi whispered back with a satisfied smile.

“Okay, everybody listen, please!” Bokuto's father called, cutting Kuroo's reply off. “We're doing a loop that should take us about five hours, not counting the picnic. Does everyone have water? Food? Sunscreen?” he asked, nodding approvingly at the chorus of 'yes'. “Then we're good to go! Don't go too far from the trail, call if you can't keep up, and make sure you always have one of the others in sight!”

The trail started from before a shrine, but led up quickly in the forest spreading around on the small mountain. Bokuto's parents took the lead, followed by their three youngest. Kazuko followed them after a fond eyeroll at their excited cries, and Bokuto had his brother in a headlock and made him walk like that for a few dozen meters before releasing him with a laugh. He sauntered back between Kuroo and Akaashi and threw his arms around their shoulders, his smile looking permanently stuck to his face. Which was the best look on him, in Akaashi's opinion.

“I'm so happy you guys are here!”

“We are too, Bo,” Kuroo grinned, slinging his arm across Bokuto's shoulders too. “I hadn't seen your family in ages. What's going on with Riki? He keeps trying not to smile, it's weird.”

“You noticed? Mom told me that there's this girl he likes, you know how they are at that age, and he tried to get her to notice him, right? Except-”

Akaashi listened to the story of how poor Riki had had to change his seduction plan, and put his hand on Bokuto's waist. They looked ridiculous, tangled like this, and it certainly wasn't the most practical formation to walk up the trail, but the sun was bright and warm, the earthy smell of the forest appeasing, they hadn't been put in charge of the youngest siblings yet, and honestly, with Bokuto's familiar chatter and Kuroo's laugh surrounding him, Akaashi didn't really care.

* * *

 

The trail didn't lead directly to the top of the mountain, but around it, on its side, until it reached the end of the forest and split in two around a rock. On of the paths kept going around, following a small river that they'd passed the source of half and hour ago, while the other took the direction of the summit, sinking back into the trees. They stopped there to eat, sitting in the grass and basking in the sunlight. The triplets fought about who would get the last onigiri and were each carried off by their older siblings in opposite direction until they calmed down, their pouts absolutely identical to Bokuto's. Their dad got the onigiri.

Kuroo spent most of the meal talking with Riki about a game he'd played with Kenma, trying not to laugh when the kid tried to get all serious and not carried away. Akaashi tried to help in keeping an eye on the triplets and making sure they didn't wander off somewhere, but they played with the pebbles around the trail after they made up, perfectly happy to stay in their world. Bokuto was leaning against him and recounting every single thing the cats had done to his sister, essentially giving her a detailed description of the last two days.

“Are you sure you'll be alright?” his mother worried. “Four small cats really is a charge, especially if you don't know their history. What did you do with them for today?”

“Just left them home. We gave them food and water before leaving, and we'll be home early enough to properly check on them and see if there's a problem. Anyway, the vet is helping,” Bokuto reassured her. “She said to take them back for a checkup next week, just in case, and she explained everything to me and Kuroo.”

His mom's expression cleared up, visibly relieved. “Oh, then if she gave Tetsurou the instructions too, it should be fine. Sweetie, as much as I trust you,” she kept going, not letting Bokuto protest, “I know you'll have trouble remembering kittens in your routine for a while.”

“They're literally right there when I get up, mom, it's not as if I could forget them!”

“You might lock them up in our room by accident, though,” Akaashi said, playing with Bokuto's hair. He smiled when his boyfriend pouted and tried to get up, whispering into his ear: “Now you'll always check, and it won't happen.”

Bokuto still got up, but he looked a little less like Akaashi had just betrayed him. He made his way to the triplets, and Kazuko took his place almost immediately, although she didn't lean as much into Akaashi. She was about as comfortable with touching as him, which made her his second favorite of the Bokuto family. She had a curious glint in her eyes, and her smile was the exact same Bokuto had when he and Kuroo had a supposed-to-be-fun-but-will-most-likely-end-terribly idea.

“So, I have to ask,” she started at a normal volume, but lowered her voice so that nobody else could hear. “How does the _ménage à trois_ work?”

Akaashi blinked rapidly, hoping his surprise wasn't too obvious.

“Excuse me?”

“You know, the threesome, or whatever you call that thing Kou and you have with Kuroo,” she clarified. “I know you live together now, and you all act like you're practically married, but it has to be a bit different from last year, no? I'm just curious.”

Akaashi checked that Kuroo wasn't listening, but he was still engrossed in his discussion with Riki, and they'd been joined by Bokuto's mother. He gestured to Kazuko to get up, and they walked away from the others, standing over the river. He had no idea how to explain this.

“We're not dating Kuroo”, he blurted out.

“Really? But I thought-”

“Koutarou would have told you if we did.”

“He mentioned you were thinking of asking,” she said, chewing on her lips. “I thought you had.”

“He- No, we haven't,” Akaashi corrected her.

He cupped his hands in the river and brought the water to his burning face, trying to pretend it was only in this state because of the sun. He didn't like kissing in public much, so his interactions with Bokuto consisted more of hugs and hand-holding, and Kuroo was pretty tactile with both of them, so _of course_ it would look the same to someone who didn't know. He'd never really thought about it. It was probably even more of a testament to his and Bokuto's obliviousness than to Kuroo's, since they were actually trying to do things like that on purpose, and even then, they hadn't noticed. On the other hand, there was something comforting in the idea that they already looked like they were together.

“We're working on telling him,” he eventually added. “I'm sure Koutarou will tell you when we do, don't worry.”

“For what it's worth, I doubt he'd say no,” Kazuko smiled – her grin was smaller than Bokuto's, more discreet, but just as blinding in its intensity, even when she was just teasing.

“What makes you say that?”

“Just a feeling,” she shrugged. “But I'm good at those.”

Akaashi was pondering her words when they were called. They walked back to the others, where the parents had already packed their things.

“We're taking the other way,” the mother announced. “It's more difficult, so we'll leave the kids to you, Koutarou, Keiji, Tetsurou,” she said, giving each of them a pointed look. “We'll meet you on the other side of the mountain. Have fun!”

And just like that, they were gone, disappearing in the forest. Akaashi allowed himself a discreet sigh.

“Are we going back?” Akane asked him, tugging at his shirt.

“No, we'll follow the path and meet with your parents a bit further,” he explained.

She crossed her arms. “Is it longer than to go back?”

“I don't- no,” he said quickly, even though he was pretty sure it was, not wanting to have to convince her. “No, it shouldn't be longer.”

“But my legs hurt!” Eimi complained, copying her sister's pose.

“You'll have to walk like everyone else,” Riki scolded her. “We're not going to carry you.”

“Aren't we?” Bokuto interrupted. He exchanged a look with Kuroo and they grinned at each other before putting one knee on the ground. “Climb up, girls, your rides are here!”

Eimi and Himawari squealed with delight and didn't waste time in accepting, and Kuroo and Bokuto made them sit on their shoulders, making sure they were hanging on before they stood up. Akane hadn't been fast enough and was left standing. She turned to Akaashi with a hopeful smile at the same time as Kuroo and Bokuto.

“No,” he told them, trying not to look at the child. “Absolutely not.” He wasn't going to exhaust himself and break his back just to make her happy; ironically, the puppy eyes she tried to use on him were a lot easier to resist than those of her grown-up brother. Kuroo was just looking amused.

“Get here, Akane, I'll take you,” her sister sighed.

She bent down and picker her up effortlessly, settling her on her shoulders. Akane cheered and almost kicked her in the face, but she expertly dodged the tiny foot.

“Wanna race?” Bokuto proposed to Kuroo.

“You bet.”

“We're going to win!” Eimi bragged, perched atop Kuroo's black hair.

“No way!”

“If you don't start moving, you're both going to lose!” Kazuko threatened, and with that, she startled the others and ran ahead, Akane's gleeful cries accompanying her.

Bokuto and Kuroo darted off after her, leaving only Akaashi and Riki behind. Akaashi didn't even try to stop them, doubting they would even for him, and he admired the view around him once more, taking in the almost aggressively green grass, the clear river, the trees that stood tall and the sunlight cascading on their leaves, before following the trail too, slower, with Riki at his back.

* * *

 

“Akaashi!” Kuroo called, sprawled across the large stairs of black stone that led to the shrine.

“Keiji!” Bokuto whined, sitting next to him.

His sisters were leaning against the trees that lined the end of the trail, resting under their shade. They were all out of breath, having run back and forth for the entirety of the hike under Bokuto and Kazuko's encouragements. They'd met with their parents where the two trails merged again, and Riki had chosen to finish with them instead of following the most excitable side of his family, staying a few hundred meters behind.

“Water to the _real_ children before,” Akaashi declared, and he gave his still almost full bottle to the triplets.

They downed the two-thirds of it before passing it to their sister, who shook her head. She held up her own, and gulped what was left as Akaashi passed his water to his friends.

“You shouldn't have poured yours on your head like that,” he pointed out as Bokuto drank.

“But I was hot!” he protested.

“And now you're thirsty.”

Kuroo looked very much like he wanted to make a joke out of that when he took the bottle, but seemed to remember there were seven years old ears in the vicinity, and he settled on a snort before drinking what was left.

Bokuto's parents finally arrived, looking just as fresh and rested as they had that morning, and Riki was behind them. It was still the middle of the afternoon, and knowing them, Akaashi expected them to propose another shorter hike, or to go eat ice cream or something, but one look at the triplets was enough to convince them it was time to go home. Secretly, Akaashi was glad: he didn't mind walking, and he hadn't tired himself out like Bokuto and Kuroo, but he was starting to feel the need to get away from everyone and go home, tired from all the interactions. He liked Bokuto's family, but he definitely preferred when there was only Bokuto to handle.

He helped them carry the girls in their car seats, and goodbyes were cut short by Riki who suddenly remembered he had homework. Kazuko hugged Bokuto one last time and jumped in the car as her parents started it, and the three boys watched them go, waving in response to the wild gestures of the passengers who weren't already asleep.

Then it was time for them to go home.

“Give me the keys,” Akaashi asked, opening his hand.

“I can drive,” Bokuto affirmed.

“I'm not convinced the sun didn't fry your brains while you two were busy running around,” Akaashi smiled. “You're tired, let me drive.”

Bokuto didn't protest much more, and let the keys drop in Akaashi's hand with a quick kiss on his cheek. He walked up to Kuroo to stretch with him, and Akaashi let them groan in relief for a few minutes while he started the car and waited for the air conditioning to work.

“Are you done?”

“Can't you take pity on us?” Kuroo pleaded, trying to comb his hair back with his fingers.

“Not really, no.”

“Rude.”

For once, there was only minimal bickering about who would sit in the front. Kuroo won by pushing Bokuto and opening the door, throwing himself on the seat and hugging it as hard as he could. Bokuto kicked him in the leg in retaliation, but climbed in the back, and finally, they could go.

“That was a good day, but I think you'll have to drag me upstairs,” Kuroo sighed, sagging in his seat. “I can't feel my legs.”

“No way, dude, if you can't walk you're staying in here,” Bokuto declared, draping his arms over Kuroo's seat to poke at his cheek. “It _was_ good though. The girls were happy to see you.”

“I gathered, from the way they kept clinging to me.”

Bokuto laughed. “You can't blame them, they hadn't seen you in months.”

“My own fanclub,” Kuroo smiled. “But to be honest, it was cool. I was kind of thinking I'd just hang back and let you guys have fun, but it was nice.”

Akaashi glanced quickly at him with a frown. Kuroo's cheeks were red, but he couldn't tell if it was from the admission or sunburn. Bokuto leaned on the seat to get closer to him, obviously puzzled.

“Why would you think that?”

“Well, I mean, you guys were happy to be together again, and Akaashi's obviously family at this point, so I didn't think...” Kuroo trailed off, looking pointedly outside the window as Bokuto's eyes grew wider.

“Dude. No,” Bokuto said, words spilling out of his mouth in a hurry. “You're family too, we've known each other since elementary school! My parents love you! My _siblings_ love you! You think I'd invite you only to leave you alone?”

“Is that why you were so surprised we asked?”

Akaashi tightened his grip on the steering wheel, stealing another glance at Kuroo. The silence stretched for a few seconds, uncomfortable.

“Kind of,” Kuroo eventually conceded.

“You've got to stop to try not to intrude,” Bokuto declared. “It's getting stupid. You don't even tell us! Is that why you keep leaving us at the apartment? It is, isn't it? Oh my god, you do that so often lately! How much do you feel left out?” he exclaimed, voice almost panicked.

“I don't! I mean, you guys are a couple, obviously you'd want privacy sometimes! It's not about feeling left out, it's just,” Kuroo fumbled for words, frantically trying not to look at them. “It's just respect for you.”

“Bullshit,” Akaashi cut sharply. “That's the stupidest thing you've ever said.”

“Agreed,” Bokuto nodded.

“Can we stop talking about it?” Kuroo asked.

He gave up on not looking at them and let the back of his head hit the window with a soft thump. His eyes were suddenly a lot more tired than they'd looked when they'd started the drive back. Akaashi couldn't take his eyes off the road for long, but he nodded once, and after a while, Bokuto picked a new subject.

They arrived when the sun was halfway down in the sky, feeling pretty exhausted for the early hour. Akaashi was starting to feel the day taking its toll on him, and he couldn't hold a displeased grunt when he had to shoulder his backpack before climbing the stairs. Kuroo and even Bokuto had fallen silent, save for one or two yawns. He'd never been so happy to get home.

They all dumped their bags in the kitchen, and Akaashi got the first turn in the bathroom. He debated with himself on taking a quick second shower, and the feeling of stickiness after sweating under the sun for hours won out. He only put back on his underwear and pants, and let his shirt join the pile of dirty laundry accumulating in a corner. They'd need to do laundry this week-end, but right now, it wasn't in his priorities. Bokuto jumped in the bathroom the second he opened the door, and as the sound of water running started, Akaashi made his way over the couch where Kuroo was sprawled. Owl and Catimini ran past him and he almost tripped on them, but he made it safely to his destination.

“I'm dead. I'm dying. I can see the light,” Kuroo muttered when he heard him.

His eyes were closed and his head tipped back, a few strands of hair plastered to his face. Akaashi felt all his limbs go limp when he sat down.

“Shouldn't have looked at the sun so much,” he retorted, but his voice was too soft for it to carry any real weight.

He tried to move his head to look for the other cats, but it was too heavy, and he ended up following Kuroo's example and closing his eyes. The darkness felt almost blissful.

“Done!” Bokuto called from the bathroom.

He opened the door a second after, and Kuroo sprang back to life. Akaashi opened his eyes in time to see him stand up and pat Bokuto's shoulder on his way to the bathroom. His boyfriend had decided on the same clothing, and Akaashi felt the intense need to fall asleep on his naked chest. Bokuto must have recovered a bit, because he found the energy to laugh at him when Akaashi tried to get on his feet. His hair was down and still dripping, sending droplets of water everywhere when he shook his head. After a few unsuccessful attempts, Akaashi gave up and sighed.

“I'll help you.”

He took Akaashi's hand and pulled, bringing their bodies together, and led him in their bedroom walking backwards. He hit the corridors wall on his way, but it didn't seem to faze him, and soon Akaashi could flop down on his deliciously cool bed, not even disturbing the two kittens that were sleeping there, right on his pillow. He turned around to let Bokuto fall next to him, then scooted closer.

“Cats?” he mumbled, remembering their conversation with Bokuto's mother.

“Alright, I think,” Bokuto answered, combing Akaashi's hair with his fingers. “I didn't see Utagawa, maybe she's in Kuroo's room.”

Akaashi probably dozed off immediately after that, because Kuroo woke him up when he knocked on their door a few minutes later. Unlike them he'd put on a clean T-shirt, and he looked even more red after his shower.

“Do you think you guys will want dinner or can we just forget about that?” he asked.

“Sleep,” Akaashi mumbled, struggling not to close his eyes again.

Kuroo nodded, and was turning around to leave when Bokuto sat up. Akaashi grumbled, but squinted at him, confused.

“Hey, man, come here,” he told Kuroo.

Kuroo paused, then obeyed, stepping in front of him, and Bokuto quickly snatched his wrist and pulled him on the bed too. This time one of the kittens protested at the commotion, but Akaashi couldn't really find it in himself to care, and didn't waste time in lying down on Bokuto again.

“Bo,” came Kuroo's voice from the other side, slightly muffled.

“Nope. You're not moving,” Bokuto declared, wriggling under him so that both Akaashi and Kuroo were resting on his chest. “No being left out.”

“ _Bo_ ,” Kuroo repeated.

“Shhh. Sleep.”

And it was way too early, but Akaashi felt his eyes close again, and the sound of Bokuto and Kuroo's respiration lulled him back to sleep.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Utagawa was apparently a dude who liked cats and painted a lot of them. I'm just really bad at cat names once you take puns away from me, sorry.
> 
> See you tomorrow!


	5. Clothing

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Boys crying over feelings and then over laundry. Less fun than it sounds. I'm so sorry. (Please read the author's note)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I would like to start by saying this was entirely unplanned, so, you know, if I ever told you this would be mostly fluff, I wasn't lying, that was the plan at the time.
> 
> **/!\ a warning before you begin**
> 
> This chapter is a pretty big change of tone, and Kuroo goes through a long panic attack for the first part of the chapter. Bokuto does go through something similar after, though it's shorter, a lot less detailed and not as heavy, and then through a moodswing that hits him hard. Neither are pointed out as being explicitely panic attacks, but that's what they are. If you don't want to read it, for whatever reason, I wrote a recap of the chapter in the end notes, so that you can know what happens. I'll also change the tags accordingly.
> 
> You can skip Kuroo's panic attack by starting at "“I love them so much it's not even funny.”"
> 
> You can skip both his and Bokuto's panic attacks by starting at "“We should go back to sleep,” Akaashi finally suggested."
> 
> You can skip the entire chapter and get to the recap by clicking on the link below. Whatever you choose, good reading!

Kuroo didn't fall asleep. Exhaustion was weighing on his bones, but he couldn't surrender to it, his heart beating too hard and loud in his chest. He felt restless, almost feverish, and he couldn't adopt the rhythm of the deep breathes Akaashi and Bokuto were taking in their sleep. He closed his eyes again, but it only made him even more aware of the places where he was touching them, and his was so overwhelmed he almost felt sick, like his body was trying to crawl out of his skin.

He eventually gave up and slid out of Bokuto's arm, trying not to disturb his sleep. He found himself on his knees on the floor, which creaked lightly when he stood up. He froze, but neither of them moved, and even the four kittens sleeping on Akaashi's pillow didn't twitch. He closed the door behind him and walked as softly as he could to his room.

Utagawa was curled up on his bed, and he sat next to her, absently petting her with his trembling hand. His heart was getting back to normal, but he was still febrile, feeling like his insides has been turned over. He tried to focus on her light purr as he fished his phone out of his pocket and looked at the time.

Almost midnight. He could call. Kenma didn't really like it, but he wasn't sure he could type well enough to text right now. He tried to clear his throat as the phone rang, but it was oddly thick.

“ _Kuro?_ ” Kenma answered, wide awake.

“Kenma, I...” Kuroo stumbled on the words, inhaled, started again. “Can I come over?”

There was a silence, the sound of his heart almost deafening again, then: “ _Sure._ ”

“Thanks,” Kuroo breathed out. “I'll be there in twenty.”

Kenma hung up, and Kuroo let his phone fall on the bed. He kept scratching behind Utagawa's ears for a minute, and only stood up when he felt like his legs were solid enough to walk. She opened one eye in curiosity when he stopped petting her, but went back to sleep after a blink. He grabbed a draft he'd used for his homework on his desk and scribbled quickly on the back, just in case they woke up before he came home, then grabbed his jacket and left the paper on the kitchen's table before putting on his shoes and leaving the apartment. The door closed with a soft click behind him.

There was a subway station not far, that they used every day to go to class, and he walked to it, glad he hadn't gone out with just his T-shirt on. The night was chilly, even though the warmth he'd felt in the bed hadn't gone away, but not cold enough that he could distract himself by blowing small clouds in the air. The streetlights lit up the road, and he could practically see every detail of the pavement, but everything beyond the circles of light was dark. He could barely see their own building when he looked back. In contrast, the inside of the station was almost blinding, and as he waited on the platform, he closed his eyes, hoping the ill feeling would go away.

The train arrived after a few minutes of waiting, one of the lasts of the day. It was, thankfully, a  single ride to his stop, and he wouldn't need to wait for another line. He shared the compartment with a group of teenagers laughing too loud in the back, attracting the reproachful stares of the other passengers, but Kuroo tuned them out.  The conditioned air did nothing to ease the uncomfortable warmth he felt.

He practically bolted out of the doors when his stop came up, relieved to move again, and the only reason he didn't run to Kenma's house was because he hadn't stopped shaking. He rubbed at this arms, not because of the cold but because his skin felt too small, too tight, and left a few red scratches.

Kenma was waiting for him on the steps leading into his house, swimming in one of Kuroo's old sweatshirts that didn't fit him anymore and that he'd requisitioned one winter, arguing he didn't see why he would bother buying clothes to wear at home when Kuroo could just give him what he didn't wear anymore. He stood up when he saw Kuroo.

“Hey,” Kuroo greeted, his low voice still rough.

“Hey. My parents are sleeping,” he informed him before opening the door.

Kuroo toed off his shoes in the entry before following Kenma down the familiar hallway to his room,  barely lit by a  bedside lamp .  He'd been there enough over the years that Kenma just climbed back on the bed, sitting with his back against the wall, and waited for him to do the same. Kuroo shrugged off his jacket and let i t fall on the ground before lying down, head right next  to Kenma's lap and legs sticking out. Kenma didn't ask, only grabbed his DS and picked up his game, but he left it on mute.

I t was a regular occurrence for them, to just lie in bed together, doing their own things. All notion of personal space had become pointless between them long ago, and the silence was so natural that Kuroo started to relax. He listened to the clicks of the console’s buttons, to Kenma swearing under his breath when he lost a fight, and finally, his heart didn't feel like it was going to leap out of his chest anymore.

“ Kenma.”

The clicking stopped.

“Kenma, I don't know how to deal with this,” he whispered.

Admitting it felt like something had been ripped off his chest, and everything underneath was raw and beating and way too alive. He heard a clap, then Kenma sighed, and his cool hand started threading through Kuroo's hair. He'd been the first and only person Kuroo had told about his feelings for his roommates, and listened to all his ramblings about Akaashi's terrible cooking and Bokuto's reluctance to do laundry, about the movie nights all squeezed on the couch where they didn't know which limb belonged to who, about the way Akaashi's nose wrinkled when he stuck his tongue out, about the way his heart always skipped a beat when Bokuto hugged him, about how they were perfect together.

“What happened?” Kenma asked, and Kuroo wasn't sure he'd ever been more grateful for having him in his life.

“ We went hiking with Bokuto's family,” he breathed out.

Even saying those few words made his throat close up again, and he had to inhale deeply.

“You'll have to give me more than that,” Kenma remarked dryly, and Kuroo laughed, a timid sound that was a ghost of itself.

After that, he couldn't stop.  He spoke softly, the words evaporating in the darkness of Kenma's room, the fingers on his scalp making him loosen up, but he was still filled with emotions to the brim, afraid that if he moved, if he went wrong, everything would spill out and leave him empty. He didn't cry when he told Kenma about the ride home, about how happy they'd made him  by acting so concerned , how much he'd wanted to just open the door and jump out, but he had to clench his jaw to fight the tears back.

“They stopped talking about it, and Bokuto talked about something else, I can't even remember what it was, until we got home,” he related, breathing more and more laborious. “Then we showered, and I was so fucking tired, you wouldn't believe it, I almost fell asleep when I dried myself.”

Kenma hummed to show he was still listening, stroking his hair more gently when he noticed Kuroo was having trouble speaking.

“I went to their room to ask if they'd want dinner, and Akaashi was almost. Almost already sleeping. So I was going to leave, but Bo caught me and,” Kuroo whispered  as his voice shook , unable to talk any louder, “and he made me  get on the bed and told me not to leave and it was-” exhilarating, exciting, overwhelming, warm, safe, too much,  _ too much _ .

“-it was too much,” he told Kenma between the tears. “I just- I  _ couldn't _ -”

A friendship going back year had its benefits: Kenma didn't freak out when he started to sob incoherently, only made him sit up and hugged him. He didn't say anything, had never been much of a talker, but his presence was an anchor, and Kuroo hid his face in Kenma's shoulder.

He had no idea how much time had passed when he stopped crying, but Kenma's sweater was soaked. When Kuroo finally leaned away, Kenma got up and took it off, dumping it on his chair before grabbing tissues and coming back on the bed. He let Kuroo blow his nose and found a hoodie that he deemed appropriate to wear after a quick inspection, and pulled it on as Kuroo sniffed.

“I love them so much it's not even funny.”

He'd spilled out, he was empty, but the words still made something ache inside of him, and now his body felt way too big.

“That's what I get for repressing my feelings, I guess,” he tried to joke, gesturing at the tissues, but Kenma didn't smile.

“You should tell them.”

“I have no idea what, in this situation, makes you think it would be a good idea.”

“Because,” Kenma sighed, “you can't keep going like this forever. It's the first time you have that kind of breakdown about it, but it won't be the last, unless something changes.”

Kuroo didn't answer. He gathered the tissues he'd used and got up to throw them in the trash. He let them fall one by one in the trashcan, aware of Kenma's eyes on him.

“I could always move out,” he said, even though it was even harder to say than everything he'd already told Kenma.

“So you would chose the 'run' option.”

Kuroo turned around. There had been no  particular tone in Kenma's  voice , a simple assessment. He shrugged and kept talking as Kuroo made his way over.

“You could. Sometimes it's the smart thing to do.”

“But you don't think it is in this case.”

“No.”

There wasn't really anything to add. Kenma let the silence sink in  for a minute , then grabbed his console again.

“What were you playing?” Kuroo asked, grateful for the way out.

“Pokemon. Want to watch?”

“If you don't mind.”

* * *

 

Bokuto woke up when Caterpillar jumped on his stomach on his way out of the bed. He sat up, disoriented and confused to see he was still dressed in his jeans, until his memories of the day returned. There was no one else with him. He glanced at the clock, only to realized it was the middle of the night. He got up, brushing his hair out of his face, but didn't have to wonder too long where the others had gone.

Akaashi was curled up on the couch, arms around his knees, a piece of paper in his hand, looking at the black kitten lapping water in his mother's bowl. He was still half naked, and when Bokuto touched his arm, not sure if he'd heard him coming, there were goosebumps on his skin.

“Keiji, are you okay?” Bokuto asked, lowering his voice in the night. “Where's Kuroo?”

“At Kenma's,” wasn't he answer he'd expected.

“What?”

“He must have left a while ago, I don't know when,” Akaashi said softly. “I just got up. He left that on the table,” he added, shaking the piece of paper.

Bokuto took it, but it didn't yield anymore information. It was in Kuroo's neat handwriting, characters written in large black ink across lines of formulas. Akaashi let his forehead fall against his knees.

“Why would he leave in the middle of the night?”

“I don't know,” Akaashi answered from behind his legs. “I don't know.”

“ Oh.  Oh no.  _ It's my fault _ . I fucked up,” Bokuto  stammered , suddenly lacking air . “It's my fault.”

He'd made Kuroo stay  with them , hadn't let him go, Kuroo had probably just waited until they were asleep because he didn't want to make him sad, but then he'd left, and  _ this was his fault _ .

“I fucked up, I fucked up,” Bokuto wheezed, falling on the couch next to Akaashi, pulling at his hair. “Shit, shit, shit-”

“No, Kou, stop, it's not your fault,” Akaashi tried to interrupt, unfolding himself to take Bokuto's hand into his own, but it didn't stop the stream of desperate swears.

“Oh no, what did I do, fuck,  _ fuck _ , Keiji, what did I do?” Bokuto repeated, on the verge of tears.

“You didn't do anything wrong,” Akaashi insisted. “It's not your fault.”

He hugged Bokuto, then, and Bokuto  held on to him like he was his lifeline. Akaashi tried to soothe him, but he just  started crying , tears running down his cheek and on Akaashi's chest.

“You didn't do anything wrong, Kou,” Akaashi murmured against his hair, rocking him gently. “Shh, it's okay, it's not your fault. Maybe- Maybe Kenma needed him to come. Maybe he called him. It's not your fault.”

The piece of paper floated to the ground, forgotten, and Bokuto tried to hold back his sobs, tried to concentrate  on the sound of Akaashi's voice and his hands on his back, but he couldn't stop thinking about how he'd caught Kuroo and dragged him on the bed, told him not to leave. The conversation they'd had on the way home wormed its way in  his thoughts , too, and he couldn't chase the image of Kuroo looking at them with a fatigue worse than simple tiredness after a day of activities, of him avoiding their eyes, and he'd been the one to invite him, and after that everything had crumbled down, and  _ it was his fault _ .

He eventually calmed down, when there were no tears left in him, and Akaashi was still telling him he had done nothing wrong, but he was obviously wrong, for once. If he hadn't done anything, why would Kuroo leave in the middle of the night, leaving only a piece of paper behind him?

“We should go back to sleep,” Akaashi finally suggested.

He pressed his lips against Bokuto's temple in a light kiss, and gently took his face in his hands, pushing him back so they could look at each other. Bokuto knew his eyes were red and puffy, his face covered in tear tracks, but Akaashi stil l smiled at him – a wobbly, tiny smile, but a smile nonetheless.

“ Let's get up.”

Bokuto nodded, and let Akaashi pull him on his feet and lead him back in their room. He felt light-headed after having cried so much, and tried to wipe away the last traces of his tears. There were two kittens still sleeping on their bed, Catwoman and Owl, and Bokuto's throat closed up at the sight. They got rid of their pants, then Akaashi threw back the covers and let Bokuto slide under them, following him closely. He threw his arm around Bokuto's waist and pulled himself against him, and Bokuto held him close, still unable to talk.

He looked at the kittens behind Akaashi's head, curled together and sleeping soundly, until it hurt to keep his eyes open. Just as he started slipping back into unconsciousness again, he felt something wet against his chest, and tremors going through Akaashi body.

“Keij,” he called, voice still rough. “Keiji.”

“Sorry,” Akaashi replied in a whisper. “Go back to sleep.”

“Keiji,” and this was all he could say, and he hated himself for not finding any other words, but he couldn't just let him cry alone.

“ I'll be fine,” Akaashi insisted, putting his hand between his face and Bokuto's chest. “It's just a- an excess of emotion. Sleep.”

Bokuto pushed himself down the bed so they could be face to face and held him closer, then pried his fingers away to pepper his face with kisses. Akaashi let out a choked sound, halfway between sob and laughter, but didn't try to get away. He wiped the tears with his palm and  cradled Bokuto's face in his hand, just holding him.

They fell asleep like that, just when the first ray of sunshine fell on them.

* * *

 

Akaashi woke up to th e vibrations of his phone. He grunted and opened his eyes, sore from the crying , and the first thing he saw was Bokuto. He looked peaceful, his breathing even and his face relaxed. Akaashi brushed his cheek with his thumb in a silent  _ good morning _ , then rolled on his back to reach for his nightstand. He grabbed his phone and sat up, rolling his shoulders to chase the rigidness that came with sleep.

“Who is it?”

Bokuto had cracked an eye open. Akaashi smiled at him.

“Good morning. From Kenma, apparently,” he answered.

He felt his smile slip away. He clenched his phone tighter, just like something in chest seemed to squeeze his heart, and Bokuto was next to him in an instant. Akaashi opened the text.

“Wait, no. 'Hey, it's Kuroo,'” he read. “'I forgot my phone at the apartment. I'll stay with Kenma today,  don't know when I'll come home, don't wait for me.'”

“That's all?”

“Yeah.”

Suddenly, all his relatively good mood evaporated. Bokuto's too, if his expression was anything to go by. He didn't look sad: he looked inexpressive, which was a lot worse.

“Kenma is busy this week-end,” Bokuto said, his eyes still on the phone.

“Yes,” Akaashi confirmed. It was Kuroo who had told them, actually.

“So he's avoiding us.”

“Yeah.”

Akaashi didn't  give his thoughts the time to settle  and go in depressing circles . He threw the blanket away and stood up, and put his phone back on the nightstand.  How could he even respond to that? It was clear Kuroo didn't really want to talk anyway, if he spent the day away,  and if he needed time alone, then they should give it to him .  H e couldn't let Bokuto beat himself up about it.

“ Come on, Kou, I'm hungry and I'm going to need you to cook for me, okay?” he asked as he dressed himself.

Bokuto nodded absently, like he wasn't even really hearing, but he got out of bed and started looking for clothes, too, so Akaashi counted it as a win. He led him out of the room and to the kitchen, and left him to go check on the cats' litter. There were traces of pee around it, despite having started to train them, but it was mostly localized. Akaashi went to get something to clean and dedicated himself to it.

There hadn't even been one stupid emoji in Kuroo's text. And he never typed so formally, or with such accurate punctuation. If he hadn't known that Kenma's texting style was even more hectic, and that he would never go to the trouble of typing correctly, Akaashi would honestly have suspected him to have sent the message. He couldn't stop thinking about it as they ate, in silence, which was perhaps the strangest thing yet.

Bokuto was never this quiet, even when he had his worst mood swings. He  was acting like a robot, didn't look Akaashi in the eyes even once, and the endless energy that usually poured out of him had vanished. He ate mechanically, and got up to wash his plate as Akaashi was still playing with his food. He really wasn't hungry, and seeing Bokuto  like that was almost literally heartbreaking, but he was scared to say anything, for fear of making it even worse.

He pushed his plate back and opted to walk to Bokuto, hugging him tightly as he finished rinsing the plate.

“Laundry after,” Akaashi murmured, but didn't even get a grumble out of Bokuto, who usually hated doing it.

He hadn't gotten any reaction since the message, apart from a few nods. He kept hugging Bokuto, and they stayed still for a while after he shut the water. He could hear his heartbeat, strong and regular, and feel the breaths Bokuto took, even and controlled, but it didn't fit with the idea of Bokuto being awake, barely fit with the idea of him being _alive_.  Not when he'd usually talk and talk until he had to catch his breath, or jump and dance around the apartment, or reorganize their entire bookshelf on a whim and drag Kuroo into doing it with him, or when he usually smiled, or laughed, or _did_ something.

Akaashi's legs eventually grew tired, and he let his hands fall, snuggling into Bokuto's. He led him  into the bathroom. They had to pick out the clothes that would go together in the machine, and he let Bokuto sit on the toilets while he dragged the pile of clothing between them. He turned to go get a bag to put them in when something caught his attention.

The item on top was Kuroo's shirt.

Bokuto reached for it automatically, barely even looking at it, but when he touched it his eyes focused, and he stilled. Akaashi held his breath, not sure what he was waiting for.

“Keiji.”

That was the first word Bokuto had said since they'd read the text, and he looked up at Akaashi, his eyes bright with tears.

“What if he doesn't come back?” he asked, his voice too fragile to belong to him.

Before Akaashi could find anything to say, Bokuto started crying again, hiding his face in the T-shirt.  He fell on his knees and hugged him,  feeling completely helpless . He didn't know what else to do.

“What if he leaves us? What if he hates us now?” Bokuto kept saying, like a broken record, between two burst of tears.

“It's not your fault. He'll come back. It's not your fault.”

Akaashi couldn't help but think that, if this wasn't Bokuto's fault, then it was his. He was the one who had insisted that they take it slow, that they didn't say anything yet. If they'd been straightforward from the start, like Bokuto wanted, maybe they could have avoided this mess. Maybe it would have been an awkward moment, but if Kuroo had just said no, that he wasn't interested, if it had been that simple, Bokuto wouldn't have been crying all the tears in his body. If they hadn't tried being subtle about it –  _ sneaky _ , his mind supplied – then maybe it would have  gone better.

“It's not your fault,” he repeated, because it was true. “He'll come back,” he repeated, because he needed to convince himself.

* * *

 

If Kuroo came back, then it was well into the night, long after they'd managed to fall asleep, the cats curled up at their feet like they were guarding them. The clothes were pushed back in their corner of the bathroom, the T-shirt buried under them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> RECAP: Kuroo cannot sleep and is overwhelmed by what he feels in proximity to Bokuto and Akaashi. He goes to Kenma in the middle of the night, leaving a note to tell them where he is, and cries as he tells Kenma he doesn't know what to do. Kenma comforts him and tells him that in his opinion, he should tell Akaashi and Bokuto how he feels, but Kuroo isn't sure.
> 
> Bokuto wakes up alone on the bed and finds Akaashi on the couch, the piece of paper in his hand. They don't understand why Kuroo would leave in the middle of the night, and Bokuto blames himself, thinking it's because he made Kuroo too uncomfortable by making him stay on the bed with them. Akaashi calms him, and they go back to bed. Then it's Akaashi's turn to cry, and it takes them a long time to actually sleep.
> 
> They wake up later to a text from Kuroo from Kenma's phone telling them he will stay with Kenma for the day and not to wait for him. They know Kenma is busy that week end, and understand that Kuroo is avoiding them, which sends Bokuto in a down mood. Akaashi tries to help him by making him do things around the appartment and hugging him, while trying not to panick too, but it's mostly pointless. They go into the bathroom to sort through the clothes to do laundry, and Kuroo's shirt is the first thing on the pile. At the sight, Bokuto cries again, afraid Kuroo is leaving for good and won't come back and that it's his fault, and Akaashi tries to comfort him again, wondering if it isn't _his_ fault. They break down, and eventually go to bed again, hoping Kuroo will come back.
> 
> Kuroo doesn't come home.
> 
> Aaaaand that's it folks! I am actually a bit sorry, since I'm guessing after the tone of the other chapters this is completely unexpected. It was unexpected for me too: it was supposed to still be fluffy-ish, and then Kuroo didn't know how to deal with his feelings and in three lines I had to go another way.
> 
> Don't worry, they're still endgame, and they will talk it out, but, yeah, for now, they're all sad and confused. I'm posting a bit early because I might be busy tomorrow, so, you know. Happy early chapter?
> 
> (If I missed anything in my warnings, I'm sorry, please let me know!)


	6. Training

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Decision making, a bit more of crying, and a trope I just love.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Discover my internal monolog while writing this chapter: Kuroo. Kuroo stop being an idiot. Kuroo they love you. _Kuroo_.
> 
> Also posting a bit early (well technically it's already the 19th here) because I love waking up to people's reactions to my chapter.
> 
> Don't worry, the sad ends here. Enjoy!

Kenma woke Kuroo up on Monday, stepping mercilessly on him to get out of bed. Kuroo tried to catch him to ruffle his hair, knowing Kenma didn't like it, but his reaction time was terrible at best, and by the time his hand was out of the blanket, Kenma had disappeared.

He grumbled and rolled out of bed, familiar enough with Kenma's house that he could go on with his routine on autopilot. He even had a few clothes left there, consequence of their frequent sleepovers.

He'd spent most of Sunday holed up alone in Kenma's room playing the games he was allowed to touch. Kenma's parents knew he was here, but they'd come home even later than their son, and he had barely seen them. Kenma hadn't tried to get him to talk again, and he'd tried not to think about Bokuto and Akaashi after sending them the text, or about what he should do.

When he found himself perfectly awake, sitting in front of his breakfast, he kind of regretted it. It wasn't like he'd expected the problem to go away, not really, but it was intimidating, like a large river that he needed to get on the other side of when he'd forgotten how to swim. Kenma was eating in silence, playing on his phone, but Kuroo didn't have much appetite all of a sudden.

“Are you going to go to practice?”

Kuroo startled at the question. Kenma wasn't looking at his phone anymore but at him, even though his face was carefully disinterested.

“I don't know. I don't have my stuff anyway, so,” he finished with a vague gesture of the hand.

“You could always ask Bokuto to lend you his spare clothes,” Kenma pointed out.

“That means I'd have to talk to him.”

“That's what I was aiming for, yes.”

Kuroo didn't pay attention to Kenma's dry tone, but he couldn't ignore his words. He hid his face in his hands.

“I don't even know what to tell them!” he groaned. “I don't think I can just pretend nothing happened. You were right about that, at least.”

Kenma chewed on something and typed more on his phone, but after a few seconds, he let out a heavy sigh and put it down. That meant serious, important discussion. Kuroo looked up.

“You know, if I keep telling you to talk to them,” Kenma said, slowly, like he was explaining something to a child, “it's because I don't think they would reject you.”

Kuroo snorted.

“I'm serious.”

“I get that, but you don't- you don't _know_ how they are. I see them everyday, and they look so good with each other. They're- they're complete. They're a unit, they work together perfectly, it's just- closed. No place for me there,” he finished quietly.

“This is really a stupid time to lose your trust in how well I analyze people,” Kenma reproached, a bit of irritation showing in his tone.

“It's not that I don't trust you, it's just. I see them every day, Kenma,” he sighed, leaning back in his chair. “There's the theory, and then there's knowing when theory doesn't apply.”

“Maybe they work so well at home because you're there, too.”

“No. It was already like that before Akaashi came to live with us,” Kuroo explained. “It's not because I'm here, trust me.”

“So you're still choosing the 'run' option.”

“I don't know. I don't want to leave, but...”

Silence fell again, only disturbed by the sound of Kenma who went back to eating. Kuroo started to look for an excuse for his absence at practice. If he didn't go, then he wouldn't have to see either of them until the evening, which would give him more time. For what, he wasn't really sure, but the knots in his stomach grew even bigger when he thought that he would need to face them, eventually.

Kenma abruptly got up without a word and disappeared in the small hallway. He came back less than a minute later and sat again next to Kuroo, presenting a hundred yen coin in his open palm.

“Head, you confess to them. Tail,” he turned the coin around, “you move out. Simple. And if you don't like what you get, it means you've already decided.”

“I don't like either of the options,” Kuroo grimaced, but he still turned to face him. “Alright. Toss it.”

“And whatever happens, you go to practice to tell them.”

“Kenma!”

“I'm not letting you hide here forever,” Kenma stated. “Ready?”

* * *

 

T his morning had been a nightmare. Akaashi had woken up an hour before their alarm, drenched in sweat from dreams he couldn't even remember, and unable to go back to sleep. He  felt antsy,  couldn't stay in place, so he'd left the bed, careful not to wake up Bokuto. He stepped out, hesitated before pushing the door to Kuroo's room, then opened it carefully.

It was empty.

Akaashi sighed and started the morning routine. Brush his teeth. Quick shower, even though they always took a second one after practice. Dress up. Clean the mess the cats had made. Pet them, a little, because it felt good, and it wasn't part of the routine but he couldn't help but smile when they pushed their head into his hand. Prepare breakfast. Wait for Bokuto and- for Bokuto to get up. Drink his coffee. Avoid thinking, about anything, because routine wasn't adapted for when the balance they'd found so easily was so upset.

Bokuto was completely silent again when he woke up, and went through his usual motions. He got out of the bathroom without having styled his hair. Akaashi liked them like that, soft and framing Bokuto's face, but this time they just  highlighted how lifeless he looked. He didn't even touch Akaashi on his way to the table, not a brush of fingers, not a kiss, nothing. Just him sitting on his chair and eating, mechanically.

H e helped clean the table, walked with Akaashi to the subway station, got dressed  in his practice clothes , all without a word,  which was so out of character that even the other team members gave him worried looks in the locker room, and  questioning ones to Akaashi. He shook his head, because there was nothing he could tell them. Just like there was nothing he could tell Bokuto to make it better, and frankly, it was scaring him. It had been a long time since Bokuto had gotten this bad, and even longer since Akaashi hadn't known how to help.

He walked up to their coach, wringing his hands.

“I'm sorry, but Bokuto isn't feeling well today. Please don't get mad at him for it, it would only make it worse.”

“One of his moods?” the coach asked, and when most people said that there was disdain, but here there was worry. He cared about his players, and Bokuto was hard not to like anyway. “Is there something we can do?”

“I don't think so,” Akaashi told him with a hint of regret. “Just let him take it easy, please.”

He agreed, and Akaashi could start practice, keeping an eye on Bokuto. Paradoxically, he wasn't any worse or better than usual. He only missed one served, hit good spikes, even blocked a few. But his usual cheers were missing from the exclamations that filled the gym, and Akaashi knew he wasn't the only one feeling uneasy about it.

Halfway through a three-on-three, the door opened and Kuroo came in. Akaashi was glad he'd just tossed, otherwise he'd have fumbled and sent the ball anywhere. Bokuto didn't notice, and the others kept playing, but Akaashi glanced at Kuroo, who was talking to the coach. Bowing, no doubt apologizing for being late. He felt something clench in his gut, but dragged his eyes away and  back on the game. It could wait.

He knew when Bokuto noticed, because suddenly he was missing everything. His serves went into the net, his spikes out of bounds, and he looked at the ball like he didn't know where to hit it. He was still silent, but now there was a contagious nervousness cascading off him onto the players around him, and the match was over quickly. Akaashi approached him, but he turned his back on the court and fled directly to the bench and almost fell on it, like his legs couldn't support him anymore. There were a few stares, but they got directed elsewhere as they were called for another game. Akaashi didn't hear his name, and thanked his coach silently. Bokuto was rubbing his face with a towel when he finally reached him, but it did nothing to hide his panicked expression.

“Hi,” Kuroo said from behind him, and when Akaashi turned, Kuroo looked away for a moment.

His head was low between his shoulders, like he was trying to hide, and his posture was anything but relaxed, so far from the nonchalant way he usually held himself. Akaashi had no idea what he was feeling at the sight.

“What happened?” Kuroo asked after a second, having obviously noticed Bokuto's distress, and.

Scratch that, Akaashi knew how he was feeling. Amongst all the sadness and anxiety and worry that had been eating  away at him for the last twenty-four hours, suddenly there was a surge of pure  _anger_ . It took him by surprise and he gritted his teeth, unwilling to let it explode. He knew, logically, that Kuroo couldn't have known how they would react, known that he would send Bokuto in one of his worst  slumps by avoiding them so obviously, but he had to fight the urge to engage in a screaming match in the middle of the gym.

“Nothing,” he let out, unable to completely erase the way his voice was shaking.

Bokuto looked away, still mute, and Akaashi took a step closer to be able to touch him. Kuroo looked at his hand, the way it went to Bokuto's shoulder, and straightened up, if that was possible. Akaash i doubted that he had actually convinced him  _nothing_ had happened, but he didn't push.

“I need to talk to you. In private,” he added, each words sounding like they'd been torn away from him. “Please.”

“We have practice.”

“Coach agreed to let us go.”

Akaashi had no answer to that. He hesitated, but Bokuto stood up beside him and nodded. They walked out under the curious looks of their teammates, but if anybody made a comment, Akaashi didn't know; all he could hear was his own erratic heartbeat. Kuroo led them to the locker room, and Bokuto sat again, close enough to Akaashi to press their legs together.

“Go,” Akaashi prompted, and the anger was drowning in everything else again, but his head was oddly clear, high above the whirlpool of emotions inside him.

Kuroo fidgeted for a few seconds, then blurted out: “I think I need to move out.”

Akaashi felt rather than saw Bokuto jump on his feet beside him, and he clenched his fists.

“What? Why?” Bokuto stuttered, voice hoarse from crying and lack of use.

Akaashi caught his shaking hand in his before he could tug at his hair.

“I just, I think it's better,” Kuroo stumbled over the words, burying his hands in his pockets. “For me.”

“But why? I told you we didn't want you to move out!” Bokuto exclaimed. “Is it- Did we- Did we-”

He couldn't get the words past his throat, but Kuroo seemed to understand. His eyes widened.

“No! No, it's not anything you did. It's me,” he insisted.

“But if we didn't do anything, _why_ would you- why would you _leave_?”

Bokuto's voice broke on the last word. Kuroo looked  completely lost . He was glancing between them, disconcerted, and he raised his hands as if to explain, but let them fall to his sides again.

“It's me. I told you, it's me,” Kuroo repeated. He looked down at his feet.

“But why?”

Akaashi's voice was at least as rough as Bokuto's, now, because as clear as his head felt, he was still drowning,  and all the emotions inside him were crawling out and obstructing his throat. Kuroo opened his mouth, but nothing came out, and Akaashi felt himself pulled down, because they'd done that,  _he_ had done that, drove Kuroo away, and-

“Because I'm in love with you.”

The world stopped.

Kuroo stopped breathing, Akaashi's heart stopped beating, and Bokuto stilled next to him, and the world was dead silent for a single second, the longest of Akaashi's life.

“ _Holy fuck_ ,” Bokuto breathed out.

He gripped Akaashi's hand so tightly it became numb, but Akaashi didn't care, because Akaashi was floating in a world where nothing made sense and everything was upside down and cows probably swam with whales and flowers grew  in gasoline and- “ _What?_ ”

“I'm in love. With both of you,” Kuroo clarified, and the words hung heavy in the air, with nothing to cover them, no matter how small Kuroo's voice was.

“ _Holy fuck_ , dude,” Bokuto repeated. “We love you too!”

“What? No.”

“Yes!”

“You love me like you love Akaashi?” Kuroo asked in a tone that made it clear he thought it was bullshit.

“Yeah!” Bokuto nodded. “Well, not exactly the same, because you're different, but yes.”

“Bo, I am aware that our bro-love is supposed to be epic, but- You know what,” Kuroo sighed, “don't worry about it, go back to practice, I'll get what I need, and you can-”

“Kuroo,” Akaashi spoke up. It cut him off in his rant, and he looked at him, looked in his eyes, for the first time today. “He's telling the truth.”

“Right,” Kuroo laughed, humorless. “Like that could happen.”

Akaashi felt the vague need to  get his hands on his shoulders, and shake him as hard as he could, and tell him to listen to them, but. They'd known he could react like that. They had  _prepared_ for it. He cleared his throat, wincing because it was raw  and hurting , but he had to get the words out, and if he couldn't speak them, then he would go back into the gym and spell them with volleyballs if he had to, but he needed to  _tell him_ .

“We miss you. I cried more yesterday than I have in years, because you ran away in the middle of the night and it hurt, but mostly, we _missed_ you. Bokuto invited you with his family because  he- because _we_ wanted you to be there. We wanted to _be_ with you. That's why we came with you at the library, or at the coffee shop last week, or why we came home with you from the party the week before that. We don't like it when you run away because you do it thinking you're making us a favor, but you're _not_ , and it's _fucking stupid_ , and-”

He had to stop in the middle of his sentence, because if he didn't, he would start crying, and he was  _done_ with crying.

“You look adorable in the mornings,” Bokuto continued, close to tears too. “You have no fucking idea how many times I had to remind myself that you didn't like us like that, and that I didn't even know if you liked kissing, or if- whatever. You make the best desserts I've ever eaten, and you put up with me alone for an entire year, and sometimes, I wondered how I'd gotten this lucky.”

He took a deep breath, and his next words were wet with tears, but he smiled. He smiled.

“And I didn't get it when you'd leave, sometimes, after Akaashi started living with us too, or why you'd avoid us, and I thought you needed space, and- we're so stupid, we just tried to give each others _space_ ,” he laughed, wiping his tears away. “And when you left yesterday, I thought, maybe, maybe it was too much, maybe he knows and he wants to leave, maybe- _fuck_ , I cried on your T-shirt, Kuroo, that's how much it hurt. I cried on your fucking T-shirt because I missed you so bad, and I thought you would never come back.”

Kuroo didn't answer. He kept looking at them, mouth slightly open, but he didn't talk. For a long, long minute, Akaashi was afraid that he was still going to say no, still going to leave. He held on to Bokuto's hand and they waited. Bokuto sniffed, and Akaashi was barely breathing, but they waited.

Except it didn't seem like Kuroo was even thinking about responding. He hadn't moved an inch, and Akaashi couldn't take the silence anymore.

“Aren't you gonna say something?”, he asked.

That seemed to get Kuroo out of his trance. He jumped and started breathing more heavily, and for a moment Akaashi was afraid he would argue again, but instead he smiled, small and hesitant, then wider and wider and laughed, little huffs that sounded like he was crying. But he  _smiled_ ,  and nodded frantically in times with his bouts of laughter, and he whispered their names like it was something precious,  like he was unable to saying anything else .

Bokuto reached out, then, let Akaashi's hand go as he took Kuroo in his arms and lifted him effortlessly. Kuroo hugged him back, and only Bokuto's grip on him prevented him from falling when he touched the floor again.

“I can't believe this,” he whispered in awe, one hand in Bokuto's hair and the other on his shoulder. “I think I'm dreaming.”

“I thought that was pretty convincing,” Akaashi tried to joke. “Very logic, you should appreciate it.”

His voice wasn't shaking, but he still felt like he was floating. He  took the hand Kuroo extended and stepped closer to them. Bokuto had his head buried in Kuroo shoulder, and he was holding him so tightly there was no way Kuroo could breath right, but he didn't seem to care as he pulled Akaashi against them.

“And is logic all you've got to convince me?” he teased, and he was as bad at it as Akaashi, because their eyes were still full of unshed tears, and Bokuto was hugging them both now, and he _was_ crying, but he twirled again, with both of them in his arms, and these tears Akaashi didn't mind seeing  in Bokuto's eyes.

“Shut up,” he replied, but his words didn't carry even the faintest bite.

“I'm so happy,” Bokuto sighed, warm and comforting and holding them and finally, finally out of that terrible slump that had started scaring Akaashi.

He leaned to kiss his cheek, wet with tears, and on the other side – on the other side Kuroo did the same, and then he stood back and looked at Bokuto like he was amazed at what he'd just done. Akaashi and Bokuto exchanged a look, and then they put each a hand on his back and kissed him at the same time, on both cheeks, and he turned the most amazing shade of red.

“We can't leave Akaashi out,” he stammered before they could tease him.

“You're right,” Bokuto agreed, and this time it was Akaashi's turn to be pulled closer by them and feel the kisses.

“Alright, alright, stop wiping your nose on me,” he protested, pushing Bokuto away without any real force.

He took a step back anyway and sniffed again, wiping his tears away with his T-shirt. They were all breathing like they'd just ran thirty laps, and Akaashi felt just as tired.

“We should probably get back to practice,” Kuroo said, still smiling and holding Akaashi's hand. “I told coach it wouldn't take more than five minutes, and I'm pretty sure it's been more.”

“You thought you could tell us 'oh, by the way, I'm moving out because I love you' and get out in five minutes?” Bokuto noted. “Should have planned better.”

“Confessing wasn't part of the plan,” Kuroo admitted. “Well, it was, but then I panicked and told you I was moving out, and then, I don't know, it just got out.”

“I'm glad it did,” Akaashi commented.

“Me too, I think.”

“You _think_?”

Bokuto frowned, ready to ask more, but Kuroo poked him in the face.

“No, I'm just glad I said it, you're right,” he said. “I'm really, really happy I did. Even if I thought I was going to die.”

“ _You_ don't get to say that, I  thought my heart _stopped_!”

“If I tell you you win, can you lend me clothes and kneepads for practice?”

The door to the locker room opened abruptly and their coach looked inside. Akaashi panicked for a fraction of second, when his eyes landed on where his and Kuroo's fingers were still linked, but he didn't comment.

“Are you done or do I need to consider you absent for the rest of the matches?” he inquired, raising his eyebrows.

“We're coming, I just have to lend my clothes to Kuroo,” Bokuto declared. “We'll be there in a minute.”

“Glad to see you feel better,” the coach noted, and then he was gone.

Akaashi looked at the door closing slowly behind him, then turned back to Kuroo.

“Do you want to make it official, or talk about it a bit more?” he asked.

“I've been waiting too long for this,” Kuroo grinned. “I'm good making it official now, even if we'll need to talk more about it. They're gonna find out at some point anyway.”

“Okay, then wait here, I'll get my bag,” Bokuto ordered, and disappeared between the rows of lockers.

“You're really sure?” Akaashi insisted.

Kuroo took a few seconds to think. “Yeah. We're all out to them anyway, and we've always been close, it's not like they're going to be very surprised. Maybe they'll think it's strange, but who cares.”

He shrugged, hand still in Akaashi's, and so didn't  have the time to react when he saw Bokuto's bag hurtling toward him. Miraculously, it didn't even graze Akaashi, but it hit Kuroo right in the face  and made him stumble back.

“Come on, change, I want to get back to practice,” Bokuto urged him.

“Go on without me, then,” Kuroo suggested, holding the bad in his arms. “I promise I'll be there in a minute,” he added when he saw the way Bokuto tensed. “I'm not leaving.”

“'kay,” Bokuto simply said, and he dropped a kiss on Kuroo's jaw on his way out.

Akaashi stayed just long enough to watch Kuroo become red again, and then followed Bokuto back in the gym. A few of their teammates stared, mostly because Bokuto's face made it clear he had cried, but when they saw how much more like normal he acted, there was a collective sigh of relief. A few of them tried to ask Akaashi what had happened, but before he could try to get out of the conversation, Kuroo was there, wearing a faded green T-shirt that was a bit more loose on him than on Bokuto and the spare pair  of black shorts of  thigh-high kneepads, and threw his arm over Akaashi's shoulder,  just light enough that he could feel him,  and slide out if he wanted to .

“We were making out, obviously,” Kuroo grinned, and laughed at the grossed-out expression of his teammates.

“Don't do that in there, please,” one of them grimaced.

“Idiot, he's lying, obviously,” another commented. “Remember? Told us he doesn't like sex?”

“Making out isn't sex,” a third argued.

The focus of the conversation shifted on the differences between the two, and they forgot Akaashi. He sighed with relief and leaned into Kuroo. Bokuto joined them, blowing a low, appreciative whistle when he looked at Kuroo.

“You should wear my kneepads more often. It looks good on you.”

“It feels weird,” Kuroo grimaced. “I wish I had my own stuff.”

“Yeah, that would have been better if you'd come home yesterday,” Akaashi nodded, making his voice as neutral as he could. “Would have spared us from having that conversation in the locker room.”

Kuroo had the grace to look sheepish. “Sorry.”

“It's cool,” Bokuto assured. “You couldn't know.”

“Is it me,” Akaashi interrupted them, “or did absolutely nobody comment on the fact that Kuroo suggested that we were all making out?”

Silence  between them  followed his observation, then Bokuto turned toward the people who were  still debating. Not about sex anymore, though Akaashi had no idea how they'd ended up talking about ducks.

“Hey hey, guys! We're together,” he announced. “All three of us.”

“That's one way to make it official,” Kuroo remarked under his breath.

“Yeah. We know,” one of the first years smiled.

“No, you can't know,” Bokuto countered, “because it happened, like, five minutes ago.”

A stunned silence fall on the gym, and everyone exchanged puzzled looks.

“You're telling me,” their captain started, “that you all have the biggest, most obvious crush on each other, ever, and lived together, and you _just_ confessed to each others?”

“Yeah?” Bokuto confirmed.

“In the locker room? Just to be clear, you chose to have your epiphany in the locker room?” he added.

“It wasn't a choice, more like it didn't seem really important where we were,” Kuroo shrugged.

That second year blocker, Tendou, started laughing, and soon the rest of the team followed.  Akaashi felt slightly stupid. So apparently,  _everyone_ knew, but them. Amazing.

“Kenma is never going to let me hear the end of it,” Kuroo complained, obviously having the same thoughts.

Bokuto smiled to them, oblivious to their embarrassment.

“I'd say that went well.”

“If you're done with your drama,” their coach intervened, voice strong above the snickers, “I'd appreciate it if you could go back to practice. Now!” he yelled.

They all jumped to attention and rapidly dispersed, forming their assigned team s , and so did Kuroo, Bokuto and Akaashi, but not before they could catch the eyeroll directed at them. It was paired with the shadow of a smile, though, so Akaashi didn't mind much. And, from what he'd just understood, maybe they deserved a bit of exasperation.

When he served, he'd stopped shaking.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> FINALLY. Finally I can write all the gross cuddles and hugs I want.
> 
> And yes, you will have guessed it, I love the 'wait weren't already dating' thing.
> 
> Hope this made you feel better after the last chapter!


	7. Revelations

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Going home, and progress.

 

Going back to the apartment that afternoon felt surreal to Kuroo. He'd sincerely thought he would move out, that he would only come back to gather his things and clear his room. Even when the coin Kenma had tossed had landed on the side that meant confessing, and for the short while he'd entertained the idea of actually doing it, he'd never imagined it would end well. That didn't happen in real life, and certainly not to him.

But here he was, going home with Akaashi and Bokuto, and they knew he loved them, and they loved him too, and it still felt like a dream.

They hadn't had the time to talk about it much after practice, in the middle of the rush to get to class on time, but they'd agreed to wait for each others to go home. Bokuto had spent most of the day sending hearts and I love you's on their group chat, and when Kuroo had asked why, it had taken five minutes – spent staring at the little dots indicating Bokuto was typing instead of listening to the lecture – for Bokuto to say _it's for all the times I couldn't say it_.

Kuroo had had to take a deep breath and hide the huge smile that took over his face, because nothing in the composition of electrons could  have believably caused it. He'd felt tears welling up in his eyes and blinked them away, because yes, sue him, he was still overwhelmed by the knowledge that  _they loved him too_ , and Bokuto's insistence  to make sure he knew it made him incredibly happy.

He also resolved to hide that side of himself from Akaashi as long as he could, because the  _second_ Akaashi would know how sappy he could get, he'd use it to make fun of him for decades.

Bokuto had practically jumped in his arms when they'd met up, and he had been more than happy to return the hug. Akaashi hadn't been as exuberant, and declined to hold their hands on the way home, but it was the first time Kuroo had seen that affectionate smiled directed at him.  It had taken a while for the dazzled feeling to disappear.

“It's still so early!” Bokuto exclaimed as he took off his shoes. “We should do something!”

“Didn't you say you have a theorem demonstration to write?” Akaashi reminded him, going straight for the kitchen.

“But it's going to take so long to do,” Bokuto sighed, trailing behind him with Kuroo still attached to him.

“More reason to start early,” he mocked.

“Why aren't you on my side,” Bokuto pouted, tugging him closer.

Kuroo laughed as Bokuto started kissing his face everywhere he could reach, pausing sometimes to ask him if he was still against him. Kuroo shook his head every time, and  while Bokuto kept going, Akaashi opened the fridge. He grabbed two beers for him and Kuroo, and a soda for Bokuto, who only really drank alcohol when there wasn't even water.  The sound of him opening the bottle grabbed the attention of the two others.

“Hey, I thought I wasn't allowed to have these again except in case of emergencies?” Bokuto inquired, reaching for the soda.

“It's a special occasion,” Akaashi shrugged, passing his beer to Kuroo.

“If you're still jumping all over the place by the time we fall asleep, you'll just have to carry us to bed,” Kuroo declared, and then his expression turned more serious. “By the way, I don't know what you had in mind about that, but I don't think it's a good idea that I sleep with you yet.”

“Why?” Bokuto frowned. “What happened with that, by the way? Did we really-”

Kuroo raised his hand and Bokuto stopped, but started biting his lips.

“Last time, I thought I would be fine, but it got- it was too much,” Kuroo explained, looking at the bottle he was turning in his hands. “I was overwhelmed, I guess, and I panicked, I couldn't stay, so that's why I went to see Kenma.” He looked at them from under his fringe, hesitant. “I don't want that to happen again, but I think it's still going to take me some time to be comfortable enough to- to do that.”

“Sure,” Akaashi said.

Bokuto looked disappointed, but nodded as he gulped half of his soda.

“You're going to finish it in no time,” Akaashi remarked.

“It's my drink, I can do what I want,” Bokuto countered, ready to down the rest of it just to prove his point.

“You know what we could do?” Kuroo interrupted. “Like, what I really want to do.”

“Yeah?”

“Watch TV together.”

Bokuto frowned.

“We do that all the time already,” he pointed out.

“Yeah, but it wasn't the same, you know,” Kuroo tried to explain. “We weren't together, and I just- don't laugh at me, you ass.”

“I'm not,” Akaashi lied, hiding his smile behind his hand.

“But sure, we can do that!” Bokuto declared, throwing his hand in the air with enthusiasm and almost spilling his soda. “There has to be something we can make fun of.”

Akaashi shook his head, but followed them to the couch. There was a brief struggle for the remote, but he settled the matter by snatching it from Bokuto and switching the TV on.  It took them a minute to arrange themselves, as the couch  _was_ big enough for them, but they didn't want to sit apart. Eventually, Kuroo found himself between the armrest and Bokuto, who had throw n his arm around his shoulders. Akaashi was lying with his head in Bokuto's lap.  They were still all holding their bottles, but the drinks were forgotten in favor of the bad superhero movie they'd found.

“I don't understand. Why is she here?”

“So the hero can protect her, Bo. Obviously.”

“In a cell in the middle of the desert? Alone?”

“What, doesn't that _scream_ romantic gesture to you?”

“No way, man. If it was me and I had to protect you, I wouldn't leave you for a second,” Bokuto declared proudly.

“That's so cute.”

“Shut up. Get your elbow out of here.”

“Shhh,” Akaashi interrupted him. “You're gonna miss the big reveal.”

Caterpillar and Catimini were sitting on his stomach, eyes turned to the screen, and they all watched the main actor stutter through his line s . The actress playing his love interest looked mostly bored, but they couldn't decide if it was her or the character she was playing.

“I'd be bored too,” Kuroo commented. “How did they manage to make _the_ big moment so shitty? It's like it evolved in another form of art.”

“Shut up,” Bokuto told him, invested in what was happening.

Kuroo and Akaashi exchanged an amused look as they finished their beers. It usually ended  up like that, with Bokuto genuinely interested in the characters' fate, no matter how bad the movie was. He also cried at the emotional moments, which sometimes was the only way for Kuroo and Akaashi to even understand they were  _supposed_ to be emotional moments.

“If you want a big reveal, I have better,” Kuroo mocked.

He didn't expect Bokuto to actually turn to him, intrigued. Akaashi tilted his  head back too so he could look at him.  Kuroo suddenly felt cornered. At least the kittens were still watching the film.

“What?”

“We're waiting for your reveal, man,” Bokuto said, crossing his arms.

“Uh. Well. It's a bit,” Kuroo started, embarrassed. He hadn't thought he would _actually_ have to say something, and he took the first thing that came to mind. “Intimate?  It's not that big, actually.”

“You can't say nothing now, you have to tell us,” Bokuto declared as he leaned in, movie forgotten. “What is it?”

“It's, uh,” Kuroo stammered as he felt his face get warmer. “You know how I'm ace?”

“Yeah?”

“I discovered I was because I couldn't masturbate to you,” Kuroo mumbled quickly, hoping it would be unintelligible enough that they would understand something else.

Bokuto blinked in surprise, obviously taken aback, but before Kuroo had the time to really feel the mortification settle  in , Akaashi burst out laughing. They both looked at him, almost worried  as he tried to hide his mouth and muffle the sounds coming out of it.

“That's not funny,” Kuroo frowned.

This only made Akaashi giggle harder. He was clutching his abdomen as his whole body shook with laughter – not that the kittens seemed to care.  It would have been endearing and probably cute if it wasn't directed at him.

“This might be a bit weird, but I'm actually kinda flattered that you thought I was prime material for your teenage fantasies,” Bokuto smiled, so honest Kuroo had to let go of his indignation.

“Yeah, can we forget I just said that and go back to Mr Boring and his plan to save the world, please?”

F or a few minutes, they didn't talk, the only sounds in the room being the dialogs on screen and Akaashi trying to stop laughing. He cleared his throat, and Kuroo braced himself.

“It's funny because realized I was bisexual when I had a crush on you,” he admitted, and, okay, that wasn't what Kuroo was expecting.

“Before you had one on me?” Bokuto pouted.

“You were my friend, so it was more difficult to tell I had feelings for you,” Akaashi explained. “It wasn't really of the same nature.”

“Is that why you were so cold with me at first?” Kuroo questioned, curious.

“In part,” Akaashi confirmed. “But mostly because you were too tactile. And because the both of you,” he added, pointing at them, “made the worst pair.”

“Yeah, well, you're stuck with us now,” Bokuto grinned.

“I suppose, yes.”

“Having regrets already?” Kuroo teased.

Akaashi looked at him right in the eyes.

“No,” he simply stated.

Kuroo felt his face heat up again and threw his head back  on the couch.  He feigned to play with Bokuto's hand on his shoulder to avoid looking at them again.

“I always knew,” Bokuto recounted. “That I was gay. I told my mom I liked boys when I was six. I didn't remember, though, so I told her again when I was, like, ten. _That_ was a lot more scary. Never realized I could end up with two boyfriends, though,” he concluded, each of his hands finding one of theirs.

“The wonders of life.”

“Indeed,” Akaashi agreed.

“Speaking of your parents, aren't you going to tell them?”

“Me? Yeah, probably,” Bokuto shrugged. “I doubt they'll have a bad reaction.”

“Your sister won't, at least,” Akaashi groaned. “She asked me how the _ménage à trois_ worked, on Saturday.”

Kuroo choked on air, but Bokuto only gave a hearty laugh.

“Doesn't surprise me. I'll text her right now,” he decided.

He freed his hand from Kuroo's to dig into his pocket and open his phone. He typed with concentration, and it took less than a second for an answer to come.

“She says congratulations,” Bokuto relayed.

“That's just a bunch of exclamation points,” Kuroo observed, peeking above Bokuto's shoulder.

“I'm translating.”

“Just like we translate your texts, you mean,” Kuroo smiled, ducking when Bokuto tried to reach his face.

“My texts are perfectly understandable, thank you!” Bokuto protested.

“There's too many emojis!”

“You're one to talk! You put one, like, every line!”

“But mine actually have a purpose in the text. Yours are just there to decorate.”

Bokuto launched himself  at Kuroo, forcing Akaashi to retreat back on the other side of the couch unless he wanted to be caught between them. The kittens mewled at the movement and fled the scene, evading Kuroo's long legs kicking on the ground as Bokuto tickled him.

“Okay, mercy, mercy!”

“So you admit you were wrong?”

“I admit I'm going to piss myself if you keep going,” Kuroo grimaced.

Bokuto relented and gave him one last poke before he straightened. They realized at the same time that he was straddling Kuroo's lap, and that their faces were interestingly close. Nervousness fluttered its wing down in Kuroo's stomach, but this time, he  didn't pay attention to it .

“You never said,” Bokuto reminded him, “if you liked kissing.”

“Not all the time,” Kuroo breathed out.

“And right now?”

Kuroo placed his hands on Bokuto waist. He examined him, took his time looking at every detail as Bokuto gripped his upper arms. He finally smiled.

“Right now it sounds good.”

The last sound had barely passed his lips that Bokuto's mouth sealed them, warm and soft. The kiss was short and close-mouthed, but it made Kuroo feel almost dizzy. When Bokuto leaned back, he chased after him, and they kissed again, a bit longer.  When they broke apart for the second time, Kuroo's eyes were half-closed, but Bokuto's were wide open, full of something like wonder.

A  hand found its way into Kuroo's hair, and he look to his side. Akaashi was there, even closer than Bokuto, an invitation in itself. Kuroo nodded imperceptibly, and Akaashi brought their lips together. It was different, maybe because his lips were a bit more chapped, or because he kissed with more intent than Bokuto, but it sent Kuroo's heart into wild somersaults all the same.  His expression when he pulled back was so soft and open, so unguarded, that it felt almost wrong to look at him.

“Wow,” Kuroo whispered. “And to think I was ready to go my whole life without ever doing that.”

“Good thing you went back to being a sensible person,” Akaashi whispered back.

“You're such a romantic, Akaashi.”

“You could call us by our first name, you know,” Bokuto observed.

Kuroo til t ed his head to the side, pensive. “I think that's going to take a bit of time, too.  Sorry.”

“Don't apologize,” Bokuto whined. “It makes me feel bad.”

“Isn't the person who feels bad supposed to be the one apologizing?”

“Yeah, so you're gonna trap us in a never ending circle of apologies. We'll stay here telling each other sorry forever, and Akaashi will be all alone. And it will be your fault!”

“How do you want me _not_ to apologize when you say stuff like this?”

“Lucky for you,” Akaashi sighed, “I'm here. Stop it.”

They could hear the music coming from the TV, movie long since over and credits rolling slowly on the screen. The sun was setting outside, and the orange light fell around them in soft tones. Bokuto was warm on his thighs, and Akaashi at his side, and despite his heart beating hard, Kuroo felt like something was finally in place.

“You still have to do your homework,” Akaashi told Bokuto.

“I hate you and everything you stand for.”

-

Kuroo made sure to thank Kenma and tell him he couldn't have done it without him. Kenma still told him  _I told you so_ , but he was also giving him one of his rare smiles, and he'd also said  _I'm happy for you_ . Kuroo  _didn't_ cry, because he was starting to get the hang of dealing with the sudden explosions of emotions inside him.

He may have hugged Kenma for a bit too long, and his eyes may have been a bit red, but Kenma wouldn't tell.

* * *

Ten days later, at breakfast, Kuroo caught one of the kittens before it could jump on the table. He spilled his orange juice in the motion and grimaced,  standing up before it could drip on him .

“Great start,” he grumbled. “Hold him, Kou,” he added, handing the kitten to Bokuto.

He only realized what he'd said when Bokuto let out a wordless exclamation before wrapping him in a bear hug and spinning him around.

“Let me go!” Kuroo ordered, trying to extricate himself from the embrace.

“No way! Tetsurou! _Tetsurou_! I love you!” Bokuto  yelled.

His smile took up half of his face. Akaashi shook his head and cleaned the spilled juice, but didn't forget to plant a kiss on Kuroo's cheek in passing.  He smiled to himself when Kuroo just gave up and hi d his reddening face in Bokuto's shoulder, surrendering to their affection.

* * *

Three weeks later, Bokuto went to bed around midnight, leaving his two boyfriends to finish their respective papers. He brushed his teeth and kissed them before closing the door to the bedroom, and Akaashi and Kuroo found themselves working in relative silence, only broken by the sound of the occasional page turned or of their fingers on their keyboards, until Akaashi broke into a huge yawn.

“I'm giving up,” he muttered, pushing back his laptop. “I'm hiring a hitman to take out my professor.”

“Make sure it can't be traced back to you,” Kuroo suggested absently. “Kou could be sad if you went to jail.”

“And you would make a happy dance?” Akaashi asked, placing bookmarks in the books he had laid out on the table.

“Depends. Do you expect me to break you out of jail? Cause I'd be up for that,” Kuroo grinned.

“I like to be free, so I guess the hitman isn't an option,” Akaashi sighed.

He gathered his books and balanced them on top of his closed laptop. When he'd secured the balance of  the pile , he left them on the table and got up, disappearing into the bathroom. He emerged a minute later, his toothbrush in his mouth, gently putting Owl on the ground out of the room, then went back.

By the time he stepped out again, Kuroo's vision was getting blurry, and he kept writing the wrong words.  He'd only added one sentence, and he wasn't even sure it made sense.

“Don't go to sleep too late,” Akaashi suggested, bending down to kiss his temple.

He was on his way to his bedroom, books and computer in his arms, when Kuroo spoke up.

“Wait, Keiji. I was thinking,” he started, then stopped when Akaashi turned to him.

“Yes?”

“Can I sleep with you and Kou tonight?”

It was late,  Akaashi was tired , so Kuroo caught a glimpse of surprise on  his features before he smoothed it out.

“Sure. I'll leave the door open,” Akaashi said.

Kuroo  saved, turned his laptop off and followed Akaashi's lead. He dropped his stuff in his own room and changed there, too, before heading to the bathroom. Owl tried to get in again, but he pushed him away gently with his foot, laughing when the kitten seemed to huff, as if offended. It took longer than usual to brush his teeth, because he kept rubbing at his eyes to keep them open.

H e switched all the lights off and then pushed the door to the bedroom, softly, though it still creaked a little. It was dark, but the light coming from a streetlamp outside allowed him to see where he was going. He felt a small hairy thing sneak between his feet, and heard the soft landing that usually meant one of the kittens had decided the sleep with him. He could track it on the dark covers, since it had lighter streaks of fur, and Kuroo recognized Owl again.

Bokuto was on one side of the bed, lightly snoring, and Akaashi in the middle. He slid in where they'd left some place for him, as silently as he could, but Akaashi still turned to him when he lied down.

“Comfortable?” he murmured.

“Very,” Kuroo answered.

“Hmm. Can I hold you?”

“Thought you didn't like that much,” Kuroo teased, looking for Akaashi's arms in the dark and hoping he wouldn't poke him in the eye.

“I get cold,” Akaashi deadpanned from under the blanket, where it was almost too warm.

“Well, wouldn't want to be responsible if you got sick,” Kuroo whispered, and finally found his boyfriend's limbs.

They moved around a bit before finding a position that worked for both of them, and then everything was silent. Kuroo felt Owl climb on hi m before deciding the lump formed by  
Akaashi's legs was more comfortable, and curling up there.  After that, he could only hear breathing, and Bokuto's snore.

Kuroo fell asleep like he'd always belonged there.

* * *

He woke up to an  _I love you_ whispered on his lips, so hey, maybe mornings weren't that bad.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow. It's over.
> 
> Thank you to everyone for reading, and especially to those of you who took the time to leave comments. You motivated me to finish my first chaptered fic in years!
> 
> Don't forget to check the other works for [Bokuakakuro Week](http://bokuakakuroweek.tumblr.com/) too!
> 
> PS: I made a [tumblr post ](http://asexualkurootetsurou.tumblr.com/post/144647545649) that also serves as a masterpost for all the links, if you'd like to save it there too! Thanks again for sticking with me and my story, you guys are awesome.


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